pizzasexualka

[hoodienanami]

Joan Jett in her Sex Pistols shirt. photo taken by Bob Gruen

fun fact: Joan first recorded her version of ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ with Steve Jones and Paul Cook, the guitarist and drummer of the Sex Pistols, as a b-side to her cover of ‘You Don’t Own Me’

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #239 - The Muppet Movie

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: DVD

1) The prologue.

How this film opens - with an assortment of Muppet characters getting together for a private viewing of The Muppet Movie - does well to establish tone. It’s pretty much the filmmakers telling the audience, “You don’t need to take this too seriously, it’s just a fun movie.” It reintroduces us to The Muppets who we know but in a way where this could be someone’s first Muppet film and you understand the role of each character. Not only that, but Kermit’s response to Robin’s question of if this is how the Muppets actually met enhances the meta tone.

Kermit: “Well it’s sort of approximately how it happened.”

2) “Rainbow Connection”

“Rainbow Connection” might be up there with “It’s Not Easy Being Green” as the song most associated with The Muppets, and there’s a reason for it. The song is timeless, fitting in during any era (much like the characters themselves). It is a beautiful, optimistic, and imaginative song that not only sets up Kermit’s character well but the theme of the film. It has that daydreamer element that The Muppets are essentially founded on. If you haven’t heard it before I recommend taking a listen.

3) When I was young I had no idea who all these celebrities were or that they were celebrities. Now that I’m older I can notice them in what I call “Cameo Watch!” Like this first cameo. CAMEO WATCH: Dom Deluise

4) This film has an incredibly sharp wit to it shown through its dialogue, humor, and characters.

Dom Deluise: “I have lost my sense of direction.” Kermit: “Have you tried Harry Krishna?”

5) Kermit the Frog as a character.

Okay, let me just say, it feels really weird to talk about The Muppets as characters. Because it’s hard to think of them as characters being written. They’re The Muppets! They’re Kermit and Fozzie and Ms. Piggy and they just are themselves. This mere challenge speaks wonders to the consistency of writing and performance given by the Muppeteers. Kermit for example: Kermit is totally unselfish. His entire motivation for going to Hollywood isn’t fame/fortune on its own but the opportunity to make, “millions of people happy.” He’s a pretty down to earth, reasonable frog who tags along with a bunch of nut cases and does his best to reign in the insanity. He’s lovable, he’s sharp, he’s funny, he’s Kermit the Frog. I don’t know what else to say.

6) With the film’s budget Jim Henson wanted to really push the limitations of puppeteering. One of the most difficult effects (whose deceptively simple appearance speaks well to the talent of the filmmakers) is Kermit the Frog riding a bike. I don’t even know how they did that.

7) The El Sleazo Cafe is Kermit’s first stop on his road trip/odyssey of sorts. It’s an environment which A) he is not used to and B) kind of is his contrast. Yeah he’s from a dirty swamp but this is a different kind of dirty. This is mean people who like to fight, not Kermit. Seeing this frog out of water creates a nice energy to the scene and a first good stop on the film.

8) Cameo Watch: James Coburn, Madeline Kahn, Telly Salva, Carol Kane and Paul Williams all appear in the El Sleazo scene.

9) I feel like sometimes I’m Kermit.

Kermit [about Fozzie]: “This guy's lost.” Waiter: “Maybe he should try Hare Krishna.” Kermit: “Good grief, it’s a running gag.”

10) Fozzie Bear.

The Costello to Kermit’s Abbott, I struggle to talk about Fozzie in much the same way I did with Kermit. Because what is there to say? He’s a bit of a dork but a funny, good hearted/good natured one. He’s funny, his relationship with Kermit is one of the things that keeps the franchise going as strong as it does, I don’t know what else to say. He’s Fozzie Bear.

11) Something I will say it is a testament to these performers that each Muppet feels so naturally alive. You never look at any of them and think, “That’s a lifeless bit of felt.” Not only do the likes of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, and the other Muppeteers do well at creating an individual character but distinguishing characters. These performers are working as multiple characters in a production and while older audiences might recognize the similarities in voices you don’t look at Rowlf the Dog and think, “Yep, that’s Kermit,” or at Miss Piggy and think, “Yep, that’s Fozzie.” They’re legends and it’s no mystery why.

12) Doc Hopper is actually an excellent villain for The Muppets to face off against.

The reason Doc Hopper is so effective is because he’s the total antithesis of The Muppets. He’s a greedy, conniving, insincere, manipulative sellout of a man. His dreams don’t involve making people happy they involve making himself rich and anything he can’t have he’ll destroy. Henson and crew - despite the success of The Muppets - were never doing anything because of the mainstream appeal. They had a ton of bizarre, unique, and wonderful flops under their belts (see: Labyrinth). It’s almost like Doc Hopper represents mainstream showbiz wanting them to sellout and the journey is about staying true to your dream. I love that.

13) “Movin’ Right Along”

There’s not really a bad song in the film (although there is one I really just hate but that doesn’t mean it’s bad per say, more on that later). Although none are as praised as “Rainbow Connection”, “Movin’ Right Along” is an excellent second number. It has the same amount of hope and optimism to it that infects the film, with the idea of progress and moving forward at the heart of it. It’s a great buddy song for Kermit and Fozzie, with the same amount of wit and heart that the film prides itself on.

13.1) I’d be remised if I didn’t mention two of my favorite gags in the film. The fork in the road…

And a very special cameo.

14) Not that he cares, but wouldn’t Doc Hopper using Kermit’s likeness on a billboard without his permission illegal?

15) I’m a sucker for any movie that has a moment where a character reads the script for the movie.

16) “Can You Picture That?”

In my opinion, this could possibly be the most underrated song in the Muppets’ musical canon. It stands up well against “Movin’ Right Along” and “Rainbow Connection” with its energy and positivity. Basically it’s a song about challenging your imagine and even though the lyrics can feel nonsensical that’s sort of the point. It’s about thinking of things, picturing unique things that might not make sense. But just because something doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

17) And disguising the car worked for a grand total of 7 seconds.

Max [after being told to look out for a frog and a bear in a brown colored Studebaker]: “Gee Doc, all I see are a frog and a bear in a rainbow colored Studebaker.”

18) Gonzo the Great.

It is like each character you meet in this film is increasingly crazy. Kermit, then Fozzie, then Dr. Teeth and his band, and now the personification of Muppet weirdness times ten: Gonzo! Gonzo is fun, funny, insane, and just perfectly random enough to give the group an extra oomph. There’s a chance this weirdo might be my favorite Muppet character! Maybe, maybe not. It’s hard to pick a favorite.

(GIF originally posted by @nostalgicgifs)

19) Cameo Watch: Milton Berle.

20) Cameo Watch: Elliott Gould.

Okay, I thought I remembered all the cameos but I 100% forgot about Gould’s appearance. It actually made me jump.

21) Cameo Watch: Ed Bergen.

This scene was shot shortly before the legendary puppeteer’s death in 1978. His appearance in the movie held particular weight for Jim Henson, as Bergen and his wooden sidekick (Charlie McCarthy) influenced his interest in puppetry. The film is dedicated in Bergen’s memory.

22) I low-key love that Miss Piggy wins a beauty pageant and no one really bats an eye at it. Take that conventional standards of feminine beauty!

23) “Never Before, Never Again”

God I hate this song. I usually skip it. It’s just so awkward and uncomfortable for me to watch, but I think that’s the point. I think it’s supposed to be funny, Frank Oz singing this sweeping love ballad as Miss Piggy. And it taking itself seriously is part of the joke but it is part of that seriousness which makes me hate it. I actually wrote in my notes, “Wake me when it’s over.” I think it’s objectively a good song and good part of the film, I just flat out don’t like it. The one weak link for me in this excellent picture.

24) Wait, is Ms. Piggy meant to be the Yoko Ono of The Muppets in this movie?

25) Cameo Watch: Bob Hope and Richard Pryor both show up at the county fair.

26) The scene where The Muppets chase down Gonzo on his balloons is a fun bit of fast pacing “action” to add to the film. It’s hard for a Muppet movie to have non-musical related set pieces but the balloon chase feels appropriately Muppety while being different enough to add some variety to the story.

27) Miss Piggy.

Miss Piggy is such a larger than life character and perhaps the character with the most to do in the series. She is a diva with aspirations of being famous, but she also knows characters and any time The Muppets need a fight scene they bring in Miss Piggy! As mentioned above, Frank Oz does a great job not only breathing life into the character but making her so different from Fozzie.

28) Cameo Watch: Steven Martin.

Steve Martin might do the most with his cameo. He is an over the top frustrated waiter, something anyone who’s ever worked in food service can relate to. Steve Martin is pretty much great in anything though.

29) The dinner date between Kermit and Miss Piggy is actually really nice, makes me understand why they date.

30) Rowlf the Dog.

Possibly the most interesting thing about Rowlf is how people have noted his personality matches Jim Henson’s the closest out of all of Henson’s characters. In recognition of this, Rowl didn’t speak in his film appearances for a while after Henson passed away. He’s a fun character already, but I think this detail adds a nice layer of heart to it.

31) “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along”

In typical Muppet fashion, something as relatable and common as heartache is turned into an upbeat bar tune. It’s one of the nicest songs in the film and a real ear worm. It is also essentially Jim Henson singing with himself so take a moment to let that set in.

32) Cameo Watch: Mel Brooks.

Okay, Mel Brooks might do the most with HIS cameo. Brooks commits to the comedy and insanity of the performance just as he would in any of his own films (Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs) and it really adds a shot of energy to the scene. Brooks is so active, he does so many little things to add to his character/performance/comedy. I wonder how much of it was improv.

33) So I feel like the filmmakers didn’t know how to get from Miss Piggy ditching Kermit for a gig to Miss Piggy rejoining the group on the road, so they literally decided to stop the movie and let the audience breathe for a moment. I love that.

34) “I’m Going To Go Back There Someday”

This is such a beautiful and bittersweet melody. It comes at the film’s low point, when the group thinks their dreams are done for. But the song is just so lovely it makes my heart warm. The lyrics are wonderful and I think it’s an amazing ballad. I love it.

35) Life lessons from Kermit the Frog.

Kermit: “I can’t spend my whole life running away from a bully.”

36) Oh quick, the film is almost over! Let’s get Bunsen and Beaker in at the end!

37) Kermit’s heartfelt plea, of choosing happiness over money and finding family/friends, is great. But Doc Hopper’s response to it is so sad.

Kermit: “If what I'm saying doesn't make any sense, well then... go ahead and kill me.” Doc Hopper [after a moment to think, reluctantly]: “All right boys. Kill him.”

38) Deus Ex Animal.

39) Cameo Watch: Cloris Leachmen.

40) Cameo Watch: Orson Welles.

Welles’ character’s name Lew Lord is actually a reference to real-life Producer Sir Lew Grade. When Jim Henson was trying to find a producer to make The Muppet Show, no American network was interested in the concept. Grade recognized the potential in the idea and helped make the show happen.

41) Ah, if only it were this easy.

Lew Lord: “Prepare the standard ‘Rich & Famous’ contract.”

42) The finale of this film, “Magic Store,” is a fun final number. It shows The Muppets have made it, they’re doing what they love. It’s the culmination of everything up to this point and even when things don’t go as they plan they’ll roll with it. And we’re given a great final message.

Kermit: “Life’s like a movie, write your own ending…” Muppets: “Keep believing, keep pretending; we've done just what we've set out to do, thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, and you!”

The Muppet Movie might still very well be the best film to feature the classic characters. It has their trademark heart, humor, and imagination all in top form. You can watch it at any time, it ages very well. So whether it’s your first or last time putting it in, I’d say give The Muppet Movie a watch.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 17 September 2018

Quick Bits:

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 gives us an “untold tale” of Spider-Man shortly after Secret Wars while he still had the black costume from Saladin Ahmed, Gerry Brown, Lee Loughridge, and Joe Caramagna. It’s a nice bit of embellishment, giving us a look more at the reactions from the people around Peter and what the Venom symbiote was doing while he slept. The dark, moody art from Brown and Loughridge is perfect for this.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers #8 is a bit of a housekeeping issue from Jason Aaron, taking stock of what’s changed for this new incarnation of the team, putting together the status of the various members, and setting up the new status quo. It’s nice to see David Marquez and Justin Ponsor aboard for this arc, continuing the very high bar this volume is setting for art.

| Published by Marvel

Black Hammer: Age of Doom #5 answers all of the questions, with Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston filling in all of the details in Lucy’s quest to find the missing heroes. It’s an interesting, and satisfying, revelation that sets up an even bigger picture and possible looming threat.

| Published by Dark Horse

Bloodborne #5 begins a new arc, returning to the city, and focusing on a scientific and religious inquiry into the nature of the affliction besetting the world. Wonderful art from Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson.

| Published by Titan

Burnouts #1 isn’t a bad start from Dennis Culver, Geoffo, Dave Dwonch, and Lauren Perry, riffing on the teen alien invasion vibe of things like The Faculty. The premise of needing to be high or otherwise intoxicated to see the true threat is an interesting one, leaving an obvious out as to whether or not it’s real, but this issue largely takes it at face value. 

| Published by Image

Captain America Annual #1 is very well done. Tini Howard, Chris Sprouse, Ron Lim, Karl Story, Walden Wong, Scott Hanna, Jesus Aburtov, Erick Arciniega, Israel Silva, and Joe Caramagna give us a story set deep into World War 2 of Cap and Bucky behind German lines, helping a group of civilians who escaped from Stutthof.

| Published by Marvel

Death or Glory #5 sets fire to Glory’s life quite literally. This entire series so far has been damned good, moving at a breakneck pace pushing the characters harder and further with each subsequent issue. Rick Remender, Bengal, and Rus Wooton continue to deliver.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive #1 is a curious thing, embracing the odd stylistic choices of Chester Gould’s characters with Rich Tommaso and Mike Allred’s art, and the kind of throwback tone of Lee & Mike Allred’s script, but through the use of a cellphone it doesn’t seem to be a period piece. Still, it’s an entertaining beginning to this mini.

| Published by IDW

Ether: The Copper Golems #5 is the bittersweet end to this mini, setting up a new problem for Boone and co. to face in the third series, but in doing so putting him in an even more tragic situation, both in the present and in the flashback back-up. Matt Kindt & David Rubín have bottled magic with this series and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

| Published by Dark Horse

GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option #1 begins a new limited series following Bombstrike and her team’s investigation of the missing Helix. It’s a bit bloodier and more brutal than the mothership series, but given the subject of human trafficking, it’s kind of understandable. Larry Hama, Netho Diaz, Alisson Rodrigues, Jagdish Kumar, Vinicius Townsend, and Neil Uyetake put together a decent start here. There’s also a great back-up filling us in on Helix’s past from Ryan Ferrier & Kenneth Loh.

| Published by IDW

Hack/Slash: Resurrection #11 is the conclusion to the “Return to Haverhill” arc and it continues with the usual offbeat humour that Tini Howard has brought to the title. Mixing the horror with wacky hijinks.

| Published by Image

Ice Cream Man #7 might be one of the more horrifying issues of the series, telling the tale of a young girl coming to terms with the death of her best friend. That story alone is enough to pick up the issue, but it also brings back more of the ongoing story of the Ice Cream Man’s trials as well, giving us a bit more interconnectivity of what are otherwise mostly standalone tales.

| Published by Image

Immortal Hulk #6 sees Al Ewing working to put the disparate pieces of the run so far together, along with revealing at least one group of antagonists dogging Banner’s heels, and working Hulk back into the broader world of the Marvel Universe to deal with the ramifications that have been hovering since Civil War 2. Surprisingly, none of it is particularly confusing, which is a testament to how Ewing is laying this out. Also, really nice guest art from Lee Garbett (with colours from Paul Mounts).

| Published by Marvel

Impossible Incorporated #1 is a new all ages mini from JM DeMatteis and Mike Cavallaro. I have fond memories of their previous collaboration The Life & Times of Savior 28, so came into this with some fairly high expectations. They were exceeded. The premise for this series taps into the same family of adventurers dynamic of the Fantastic Four and Challengers of the Unknown, and it yields some interesting characters, weird landscapes, and phenomenal art.

| Published by IDW

Infinity Wars: Soldier Supreme #1 is the first of these Infinity Warps tie-in minis to the overarching Infinity Wars saga, blending together two of Marvel’s heroes in this new reality. In this case, Captain America and Doctor Strange. I’m not sure how much impact these will ultimately have on the event, but it’s a fun diversion. Gerry Duggan, Adam Kubert, Matthew Wilson, and Clayton Cowles deliver an entertaining beginning to this story, laying out Stephen Rogers’ origin and showcasing a number of other amalgamated heroes and a rather interesting villain. Kubert and Wilson’s art is definitely more than worth the price of admission.

| Published by Marvel

The Life of Captain Marvel #3 delivers more heartfelt and strange complications for Carol Danvers. I’m really enjoying the drama that Margaret Stohl is creating in this series, it’s really been injecting a real element of humanity in Carol that’s been missing for years.

| Published by Marvel

Mr. & Mrs. X #3 gives us an explanation for the egg that everybody and their bird-brained aunt are fighting over. This development is definitely very interesting for the cosmic side of things.

| Published by Marvel

Olivia Twist #1 is an updating of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, gender-bent and worked into the future, by Darin Strauss, Adam Dalva, Emma Vieceli, Lee Loughridge, and Sal Cipriano. The premise works quite well adapted to a dystopian future, with the protections of society broken down and oppression at an all time high. Although this is set in a future Britain, it’s easy to see similar conditions in America today. What really brings the book together is the artwork from Vieceli and Loughridge. 

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Patience! Conviction! Revenge! #1 is the beginning to what looks to be another beautiful sci-fi epic, starting out with a bit of a western feel, before moving on to the city. I quite like the voice that Patrick Kindlon gives to the protagonist, Renny, as he doesn’t seem to shut up. Also, the artwork from Marco Ferrari and Patrizia Comino is wonderful. Ferrari has a style that reminds me of Sean Gordon Murphy and Devmalya Pramanik and it perfectly suits a lived-in future.

| Published by AfterShock

Return of Wolverine #1 is not a terrible comic. In fact the artwork from Steve McNiven, Jay Leisten, and Laura Martin is very, very good. McNiven seems to be channelling Barry Windsor-Smith for the artwork and it’s perfect. The action and page compositions are wonderful. I can also say that the story, dialogue and such, from Charles Soule is not bad. I’m not sure if I like the implied idea of pulling Wolverine’s history from him, putting the memory genie back in the bottle when we already know his Origin, is a good idea, but his issues with Persephone and Soteira are at least interesting.

What ruins this comic, however, like the Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends issue, is that it renders the entire Hunt for Wolverine event superfluous. It doesn’t respect the readers’ time or money, showing that Hunt for Wolverine didn’t build to anything. There’s absolutely nothing in this comic that necessitates having read anything before it. That’s good for new readers, but it’s a crappy ploy from Marvel that manufactured an empty event that seems like its sole purpose was to bilk the customer. I feel terrible saying that, since for the most part the mini-series weren’t bad in isolation, but as a whole, it just seems like a marketing stunt. When it comes to a character like Wolverine, who has previously been associated with the idea of market oversaturation, it’s just worse. 

From Marvel Legacy through to now, it doesn’t feel like there’s been any guiding hand. It doesn’t feel like there’s been any coherence between any of the appearances. It just feels like Marvel turning to some of their worst tendencies in making this past year or so a marketing ploy, tarnishing something that possibly could have been special, and ruining the return of Wolverine. Wolverine’s still dead, Marvel’s just pimping a corpse.

| Published by Marvel

Seven to Eternity #11 checks in on Adam’s family at the farm while he’s hanging around with the Mud King. Like every issue, beautiful, stunning artwork from Jerome Opeña and Matt Hollingsworth, somehow outdoing themselves with the brilliant colour schemes and impressive character designs. Also, I love the biting, almost subtle, humour that Rick Remender employs for the Mud King’s dialogue.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #86 begins the Earth Protection Force’s assault on Burnow Island, the new home to the Triceratons and Utroms. The action depicted by a returning Dave Wachter (with colours by Ronda Pattison) is very nice, even as we get some interesting moral and ethical hemming and hawing from both the Turtles and Burnow’s defenders as they choose whether or not to release their war criminals to help fight against the EPF. This feels like the beginning of something very heavy.

| Published by IDW

Thor #5 resumes the King Thor story from the first issue, in the far-flung future, with a reunion between Thor and Logan. It’s not quite as bonkers a story from Jason Aaron as the opening Niffleheim arc, but it’s certainly up there. I almost get the impression that Aaron and Donny Cates are seeing how far they push the cosmic envelope at Marvel right now, between their respective series. In any event, it’s led to some great storytelling. Especially when you add guest artist Christian Ward, who just makes this a must buy.

| Published by Marvel

Venom #6 is a not-so-subtle reminder that the art team of Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and Clayton Cowles are absolute beasts. Every issue of this series has been impeccably crafted so far and I swear that this one ups the ante. Gorgeous work from the team.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #2 is more ridiculous fun. If you liked the first issue, this is more of that, with some even more over-the-top shenanigans with the team, as they try to get to the bottom of BRODOK. Kelly Thompson’s dialogue and humour here are a highlight, reminding me of some of best of Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis’ work on the bwahaha era of the Justice League. A book that doesn’t take itself too seriously is a nice balm these days. Also, gorgeous artwork again from Stefano Caselli and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #23, Aphrodite V #3, Black Badge #2, Bonehead #4, Britannia: Lost Eagles of Rome #3, By Night #4, Coda #5, Coyotes #6, Crude #6, Curse Words #16, Days of Hate #8, Doctor Strange #5, DuckTales #12, Edge of Spider-Geddon #3, Encounter #6, Evolution #10, Flavor #6, Hit-Girl #8, Infinity 8 #6, Jeepers Creepers #5, John Wick #3, Kick-Ass #7, Lost City Explorers #4, Luke Cage #2, Lumberjanes #54, Mae #9, Mata Hari #5, Multiple Man #4, Quantum & Woody #10, Rick & Morty Presents Sleepy Gary #1, Robots vs. Princesses #2, Rumble #7, Secret Agent Deadpool #2, Shadowman #7, Star Wars #54, Star Wars: Lando - Double or Nothing #5, Stellar #4, Strangers in Paradise XXV #6, Summit #9, Superb #13, Sword of Ages #5, Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #6, Vagrant Queen #4, Venom: First Host #4, Witchfinder: Gates of Heaven #5

Recommended Collections: Beowulf, Cable - Volume 3: Past Fears, Coda - Volume 1, Cold War - Volume 1, Descender - Volume 6: War Machine, The Mighty Thor - Volume 4: War Thor, Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe, Skybourne, Spider-Gwen - Volume 6: Life of Gwen Stacy, Venom - Volume 4: Nativity

d. emerson eddy enjoys doing stuff some times. And things other times. Stuff and things.

[gloves94]

La Vie En Rose [Bruce Banner] 13

summary: An uncontrollable, green beast trapped inside a humble doctor. The key to this control: the white eyes of a pompous, materialistic jewel thief. Oh- and also, the world is ending. Best of luck to you both and the rest of the Avengers.

warnings: none words: 3,217 pairing: Dr. Bruce Banner x OC

“I’m sure you all must be wondering how long you’ve been in here-“ Focus spoke as she opened a door wide and stepped inside of a dark room. This had been the 4th door in which they walked through...

“Just a couple of eternities.” Of course Stark couldn’t hold his tongue.

Focus shook her head and rolled her eyes while looking back at him.

“Actually,” she began in a matter of fact tone. It has been but mere milliseconds. Your physical bodies are still free falling in the real world.” “How is that possible?” Natasha asked almost on behalf of everyone. “You forget this isn’t a physical reality... It’s almost like a dream. You are never sure how it first starts or how it ends. All you know is that it happened.”

Suddenly the attention of the Avengers was grasped by a pale light at the end of the room.

“Where are we now?” Thor asked as they approached the light. As they did they realized it was a massive cinema screen and that the light was actually a film projecting against it. “Is this- a cinema?” Steve asked perplexed.

As they approached the screen they noted that the cinema room even had velvet sofa seats for its guests. There was another embodiment of Merrill watching the film with a bored expression on her dull face.

Bruce eyed the woman sitting down carefully. All of these entities, they were fragments of Merrill. Not wholesome nor incomplete, simple two-dimensional characteristics of what composed her id. “Almost- it’s a way we can understand how memories are viewed inside of the mind..” She nodded her head towards the sitting woman in the room. “That’s Nostalgia.”

Nostalgia yawned at what appeared to be clips of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and clicked what appeared to be a control remote. The scene turned into a plate of beignets and French pressed coffee.

They all sat and observed snippets of St. Paul’s life. A birthday cake. Death of a pet. The first day of school-

“Wait-“ said Natasha suddenly. “Is that-?”

There was a woman in the film. Actually- It was an image of her.

“You came out really well,” the woman spoke. The film they were watching was made from St. Paul’s perspective.“Just remember- you can do better than 4thplace. Try harder next time.”

The photograph was a family picture. There was a young girl that appeared to be in her first years of elementary school. Behind her standing was a woman with light brown hair, opposite a dull man with tired eyes and a scraggly beard. Suddenly the photograph shrunk away and replaced was the woman’s face.

“St. Paul’s mother. There is no record of this woman.” Natasha continued. She observed the peculiar features the woman had and attempted to memorize them. She noted the poor resemblance between the woman and her daughter. She noticed the way her dark eyes watched her child's reaction. “No record?” Banner asked both of his eyebrows furrowed. He also noted that there wasn’t much of a resemblance between them.

“All we know of Merrill’s family is that she was raised by a man with questionable paternity named: Michael St. Paul, he worked at a photography studio in Providence, Rhode Island. There is nothing particularly remarkable about his life."

The scene suddenly changed and Tony appeared on the screen. The screen showed Tony spraying a bottle of champagne on what appeared to be a luxurious private cruise. The ocean blue stretched beyond the horizon. Stark wore sunglasses and a broad grin on his face as he laughed. St. Paul's laughter could be heard too. All eyes turned to look at the Iron Man who was watching himself on the screen with a serious expression.

"What?" He scoffed in a defensive tone as he turned to face the rest of the group. "I was under a trance," he excused while crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, you do look pretty happy…" Focus muttered under her breath.

"We're just wasting our time here!" Steve suddenly rose to his feet. "And where do you reckon we should go, Einstein?" Stark retorted, his eyes gluing themselves to the screen once again. "She could be in any of the other doors," Thor added.

"Can you keep it down?" Nostalgia turned around and glared with an annoyed look on her face.

The group stopped and looked at her for a moment. They proceeded to ignore her.

"There have got to be at least hundreds of doors in this place. It's a maze." Banner reasoned. He ran a hand over his hair anxiously. His brain was rattling the probabilities and algorithms of these doors. Certainly, there had to be a way out. "So what do you reckon, we split up and look for clues? This isn't Scooby Doo," Tony bit back. Banner rolled his eyes at his fellow scientist. "We should-" Natasha began.

"Can you please shut up?" Nostalgia snapped. The screen didn't stop playing. She turned around and glared at the Avengers with a scowl on her face.

Once again she was ignored, and her voice was drowned out by the group's bickering in the theater. Loki simply sat on the edge. He paid no mind to the arguing and instead kept his attention on the screen before him. He scrutinized every detail he could about this woman's life.

"Who is this Doo you speak of?" Thor whispered to Hawkeye who simply shrugged off the Scooby Doo reference. Loki rolled his eyes at his older brother. "Oh, Scooby Doo is a television show-" Focus began elaborated for the Nordic god.

"Goodness!" Nostalgia stood on to of the navy blue cinema seat. "Can I watch my movies in peace? You all are the worst type of people to watch a movie with!" She exclaimed clearly aggravated.

"What are you going to do about it?" Focus asked with both of her eyes starring sharply at her other self. "You know what-" Nostalgia said walking towards the screen. The projector light above reflected on her eyes as the cruise vacation continued. "I can't stand having you all inside of here. And neither can the others. It's overwhelming." She huffed. Bending down she pulled on the projector screen and it jumped to the roof revealing a door behind it.

Unlike the other doors, this one was brown and looked old and used.

"She's behind there. Now get out of my theater!" Nostalgia screeched. Her face red and both of her fists round. Everyone stood silent. "Out!" She repeated in an angry shout pointing the direction.

"She really hates it when we disturb her movies," Logic muttered as she followed to the door.

"This is it," Hawkeye said.

Captain America lead the group and reached for the handle. He tested the cool brass on his hand, so far it was safe. He opened the door and before him was nothing but darkness. Taking a deep breath, he stepped in. The Avengers followed so did their prisoner Loki and the embodiment of Focus. As soon as the door was shut behind them it vanished into thin air.

The group stood in silence for a minute. Despite the darkness, they could see each other illuminated clear as day.

"Now what?" Stark echoed into the darkness before the group. "Is this what your girlfriend thinks of on an average day Banner?" "She's not my girlfriend!" The other protested, despite this, the pink tint on his cheeks was noticeable. Focus chortled, something about the situation appeared humorous to her.

Just as she did the floor beneath them began to quake. The Avengers assumed fighting position. However instead the floor tilted in a horizontal position. The group was sent sliding until they were in mid-air. With a harsh landing, it seemed as if they were all crashing into an alternate reality.

They landed in three different groups.

Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America were trapped together. Inside of a separate box were Hawkeye, Natasha, and Logic and in the last were Loki and Bruce.

"What is this?" Thor shouted his thunderous voice boomed and echoed the maze.

The others wondered the same question. It appeared that each group was trapped in its own cleverly crafted maze.

"How do we get out of here?" Focus asked concerned as she eyed the walls around her. Her glimmering eyes trailed up where another maze formed in the roof of their heads. A bead of sweat formed on Clint's temple. Natasha's jaw clenched.

"Isn't that-" Bruce commented as he looked up, or down, at the figures in the maze below them. There they were, Tony, Steve and Thor already bickering.

His mind ran wild. There seemed to be no time, reason or logic in this place. What was this place? A mental state? Another dimension? This wasn't real. There had to be a way out of here. He was sure of it. With the combined knowledge of his many Ph.D's, he would figure a solution out.

"We should go this way," Tony said as he headed down one way. "No. Rules dictate that in order to find a way out of a maze one must stick to the right." Steve argued. "Halt and hold your tongue. We must stick together." Thor attempted to convince the disputing duo.

Bruce noticed that Loki simply shrugged and sat on a corner of the squared room. The walls were dull and made of black marble, so was the floor. There was no smell and the ambiance was cold. If there was no time, then that meant the laws of physics did not apply to this space. The God of Mischief appeared to be enjoying by the bickering and the struggle everyone had to endure. He didn't want to bother with Loki, the way he looked at him gave him the creeps.

Natasha, Clint, and Focus began venturing their way through the dense maze. When suddenly they heard something rumbling next to them. Both managed to duck before a ball of fire blasted above their head. Focus vanished before their eyes.

"Watch out for the traps!" The Black Widow warned.

Tony heard something zoom past him, the Captain pulled him to the side as a dozen arrows shot out from the wall. Bruce peeked out of the hallway. There didn't seem to be any traps. Loki remained behind in the cube enjoying himself. Bruce walked the dark hallway alone.

If there were no physics in this room… He glanced at the wall next to him. Could he perhaps- He leaped towards the wall hoping to prove his hypothesis and walk horizontally. Instead, he slipped and hit the back of his head. He lay in the floor aching. This had been a bad idea. He decided to shut his eyes for a brief moment. The marble floor felt cool under his touch.

"Ouch," he painfully moaned at the former impact.

He lay in the floor for a moment taking in the coolness beneath him when suddenly he felt a rumble approaching. The floor beneath his prints trembled; by the time Bruce realized what was coming it was too late. Tripping on his jump he looked back over his shoulder and pumped his legs to run as far as they could take him. Rolling behind him was a ghastly marble spike ball, at least the size of three elephants. The Spiked ball covered the hallway and was engulfed in flames. He could feel the intense heat creeping on the nape of his neck. Sweat built on his temple, his breathing was ragged. Loki was nowhere to be seen.

"Banner!" Shouted Natasha from one of the sides of the maze. However, when she did the hallway shut blocking off an entry and exit way. Spikes appeared and the walls came zooming in. The same happened to the Captain's group. However, there were no spikes.

"Everybody! Stay calm!" He called out.

Moments after he said those words they became concrete. The words in heavy, glossy white covered slammed next to him making him jump. The marble floor had been dented due to the overbearing weight of his words. "In Odin's name-" mumbled Thor. "Woah," added Stark.

Before long, both of their words materialized cramming the small space where they stood.

"Everyone. Quiet!"

Even the exclamation point materialized before them.

'There is no way that this can be real!' Dr. Banner thought as he ran for his life. He swerved and slid in every corner with every opportunity he had. He quickly dove into a hole in the wall and avoided the flaming ball. Stepping out he exhaled. He couldn't remember when had been the last time he had been under such a heavy amount of stress. Fortunately, there would be no turning involved.

He glanced up at the bickering trio and saw how their loaded words crowded the small room where they stood. He saw how Natasha and flint were attempting to climb up the closing room. He saw the flaming ball returning down the hallway.

'Not again!'

Bruce missed a step, slipping on the trail of sweat he left behind and tumbled to the floor hitting his head. He looked back and managed to crawl before becoming death loomed just around the corner.

He shut his eyes tightly and braced himself. It was what he had wished for countless of times. Death. Yet, for some reason, he wasn't ready to welcome it, and it didn't come to him.

Not feeling the painful blast of heat or the painful feeling of his bones being grinded. He opened his eyes and blinked twice perplexed as to how he had survived that encounter. Where was he now? Once again, he was in a dark room. There was barely any light in this one. The floor beneath him was made of old wood and there was nothing besides a darkness which appeared to stretch infinite before him.

Then something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. In the nearby distance stood a man he was holding something. He looked closely. It was Loki. Merrill St. Paul lay limp in his arm. Caught off-guard Bruce gave a step backward in hesitation, which was when the god of Mischief turned to face him. Was he imagining this? When he saw the crooked grin that made way to Loki's thin lips, that's when he knew.

"Loki!" he growled.

The man in the green robes simply tossed the body to the side. Without thinking it twice he rushed to St. Paul's side.

"Stay away from her!" Bruce lifted the groggy woman whose eyes narrowed as she glared at the Asgardian god.

"Enchantress, join me," Loki said stretching out a hand towards the woman. "Together we will unleash the fury of a hundred Ragnaroks on this vermin of a species."

"I am part of that 'vermin' you Norse idiot." she scoffed before rising to her feet with the help of Dr. Banner.

"I will grant you superhuman abilities," Loki continued his bribe. His gray eyes gleamed as his smirk grew wider. Bruce looked at St. Paul's angry features. The way her nose crinkled and her eyes buried under her scowling eyebrows.

Regardless, the woman considered it.

"I know what your deepest wants and desires are Midgardian… You will be a queen whose power and glory will stretch beyond the realm of this pitiful world."

Merrill saw it. She saw the perfect world at her feet. Loki by her side ruling with a strong and stern fist. Her eyes momentarily met Bruce's if he hadn't been able to do it-

She approached the god.

"Merrill, don't do it." She felt Bruce's sturdy hands reach for her arms. One held her arm in a firm grip, the other wrapped around her hand. She refused to look at him. Loki's grin widened as he stretched his arms to welcome the woman who would be his queen to his side. "It's all a trick." Banner licked his lips anxiously. "And even if it isn't. You're better than that. Than him!" "Leave me alone!" The woman pulled her arm away from him. Regardless he didn't release her hand from his grip. "You missed your chance, Bruce," she tossed back still struggling. "I won't let you!" He said in a more stern tone. He pulled the woman to him and wrapped his arms around her body holding her still. Loki observed curiously. Part of him was annoyed, but the other part enjoyed the dramatic situation.

She squirmed and struggled. "Let me go!" She stomped on his foot with the bottom of her heel. In pain, he emitted a hissing noise. However, his grip didn't loosen.

"Are you done?" He asked as he shook her body. "With you? Yes!" She spat back with a frustrated huff. "I meant with your childish tantrum" His dark eyes were sharp as they glared into her naturally icy blue ones. She felt vulnerable under his intense gaze and his menacing tone. Her body relaxed in his arms his grip didn't.

"Merrill, I know you're not wholly selfish. You've done wrong. See it. Acknowledge it. Please… stop before thing get worse."

She avoided his gaze and looked down at her feet.

"It's not too late to undo what you've done," Bruce added in a softer tone. She looked at him carefully. Her free hand reached for his face and she stroked it gently. He didn't even see when she leaned in and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.

"Really?" Loki droned from across the room. Uncomfortable by the public display of affection.

"Stay out of my head!" She suddenly roared as she marched towards him. She could hear his voice in her head, murmuring temptations, playing on her deepest wants and fears. She didn't know what she was going to do to him when she reached him.

"I am already in your head," Loki chuckled as he stepped forward.

He was quite literally.

"All of us are," Captain America suddenly added as he stepped into the picture. "Loki!" Thor called.

"How?" Bruce asked perplexed. "We figured it out," Natasha said. "The moment we gave in and stopped fighting, that's when we passed through."

It made sense. The minute that Dr. Banner had been abolished. Well, that's when he suddenly appeared in the core chamber of St. Paul's mind.

"Merrill. Let us go." Tony said. His eyes were hard. His usual wistful tone was gone. The Avengers approached her, circling around her. She backed into Dr. Banner's side. His hand wrapped around hers once again. His gaze remained focused on the Avengers. In the absence of her touch, he turned and saw that she was stepping away from him.

"No more running," Natasha said. "No more hiding," Clint added as they both approached the woman with a threatening gaze.

St. Paul's eyes darted around the room for an escape. There was none. Her mind raced thinking of a Plan B, C, D all the way to Z. There had to be a way out. There was always a way out.

She snapped her fingers and in a blink of an eye, the impact was real. St. Paul felt the impact of the cold marble floor beneath her right cheek. At the same time, the Avengers resumed their free-falling positions and crashed back into reality.

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[briangroth27]

Avengers Infinity War Review

I went into Avengers: Infinity War completely bored with the drawn-out Infinity Stones plot (it’s been going on for 6 or 7 years—since First Avenger or Avengers—depending on how you want to call it and Guardians of the Galaxy devalued the Stones by calling them meaningless McGuffins), uninterested in Thanos (Josh Brolin) as a villain, and not at all ready to say goodbye to original Avengers like Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). However, the movie definitely dispelled the vast majority of my doubts! It was very well-made, expertly wove a huge amount of characters together, and absolutely felt like an epic event movie. That said, while I didn't dislike it by any means, there also weren't any moments that really wowed me; I liked it a lot, but didn’t love it.

However, it’s obvious the creators did. It’s clear this movie isn’t a cash grab, but a celebration of the universe Kevin Feige and his numerous writers, directors, and actors have crafted over the past 10 years (which is a bit odd to say, given this movie gets dark). Infinity War never feels cynical or forgets to treat its heroes as heroes, despite their imperfections. Gone are the days of severe hero infighting; when a universe-threatening enemy shows up, everyone puts their differences aside to save the day (even if they bicker from time to time). I love that writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely changed the source material (Infinity Gauntlet) to make the Avengers the main characters out to stop Thanos instead of cosmic characters we haven’t met in the movies. It would’ve been extremely disappointing to have an entirely new group of characters come out of nowhere to steal our heroes’ thunder. Script-wise, this movie feels like meeting old friends again, as the writers captured the various heroes' voices well. While less-skilled writers might have washed out nuances between characters due to the similarity of trademark MCU snark, everyone still felt distinct here and there were plenty of standout comedy moments balancing the dramatic beats perfectly. Even though I haven’t previously been invested in some of these characters, everyone came off as likable. I do wish we’d gotten more character moments out of more of the heroes: all of them (somewhat necessarily, given the scope) come in as we left them in their last adventure, even though for about half of them, two years (or more, in the case of the Guardians) have passed since we last saw them. This lack of development wouldn’t be as much a problem for me if there were more solo films coming, but given we know whose contracts are expiring, it seems several Avengers have run their course in the MCU and are leaving interesting stories on the table. I have no problem with a universe-threatening villain in a sprawling adventure, but given the choice between that and digging into the characters more, I’d prefer solo films. Still, there’s only so much screentime the acting was strong across the board; even when the script didn’t give some actors a lot to work with, they were able to play to their characters’ iconic true north really well. The writers and the Russo Brothers brought everyone together seamlessly, creating several fun new dynamics. Tony (Robert Downey, Jr.), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Star-Lord’s (Chris Pratt) similar attitudes irked each other perfectly while Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Teen Groot (Vin Diesel) came together organically and Captain America’s crew mixing with the heroes of Wakanda felt totally natural.

Full Spoilers...

There are a lot of character beats I loved. Black Widow consistently being the deadliest of the Avengers was great (and I’d love to see these skills put to the test as her enemies come after her in a solo film, allowing her to finally clear her Red Ledger), and her kickass team-up with Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) was a great (if brief) showcase of the MCU’s heroic women. Likewise, I loved that Shuri (Letitia Wright) was the obvious person to turn to when it came to super-science, and her reaction to Stark and Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) construction of Vision (Paul Bettany) made it absolutely clear that her tech abilities far outstrip theirs. I’ll take any Shuri appearance I can get and I wonder if she'll get to be the Black Panther in her brother's (Chadwick Boseman) absence like in the comics. I do wish she could’ve met Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and that they could’ve become science besties. Spidey’s enthusiasm for superheroics and his drive to protect his neighborhood was a breath of fresh air, particularly when played against the more cynical characters. I do think his willingness to come up with a plan to kill a villain was a little alarming morally, but otherwise I love his youthful energy. I wish we could’ve seen the fallout of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) discovering Peter is Spider-man at the end of Homecoming as part of Peter’s introduction here, because that certainly needs to be dealt with onscreen. Maybe he could’ve finally said “with great power comes great responsibility” and mentioned Ben in that moment, which would also fuel his decision not to leave when Tony tells him to get off the ship. I get the urgency of giving Peter the Iron Spider suit (which looks much better than in the comics), but I was kinda bummed that we’re yet again having Tony hand all these toys to Peter instead of Peter developing them himself (I prefer a self-sufficient Spidey using homemade tech). Speaking of Tony, it was great to see him come up against egos as big as his, particularly when Star-Lord threw his plan away outright and came up with a better one. His reaction to Strange’s magic was what you’d expect from Stark encountering the supernatural and I wish they’d had time to dig into a science/mysticism dichotomy between them a bit more. Tony’s arc of telling Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) about wanting to have kids to losing his surrogate son Peter at the end was much more emotional than the “last man standing” fear vision he had in Age of Ultron. I thought his reluctance to call Steve as the crisis started was a fine—if underwhelming—continuation of their rift from Civil War, though I think it’s worth noting that he kept the flip phone on him for use at a moment’s notice (even if he didn’t end up calling Rogers personally).

Steve's "We don't trade lives" is a great motto and, like others have noted, it’s the answer to Thanos’ argument. I just hope it's not reversed in the next installment by the original Avengers sacrificing themselves for Thanos' victims. I also liked that they dealt with the potential dissonance with Cap sacrificing himself at the end of First Avenger, though Banner's justification was essentially that Steve didn't have a choice. I worry that Cap and the others will be forced into a place where they don't have a choice in Avengers 4. It would’ve been nice to dig into Cap’s thoughts on having become a nomadic vigilante after the events of Civil War and to at least hear what he and his crew have been facing in that time. I’m glad he hasn’t lost his upstanding personality, but he, Nat, and Sam (Anthony Mackie) don’t seem very changed by their time on the run, which felt like a missed opportunity: you’d think losing the Avengers’ insulation would be the perfect time to expose Steve to how the common people’s ideals and dreams have changed, which would be a fantastic conflict for him. I really wish we were getting one more solo Cap film to deal with just that: are his ideals outdated? What kind of symbol does America want now, and does he need to remind us of what we should be aiming for? What of citizens who spout hate and call it patriotism? Maybe they can persuade Evans to come back for a Logan-scale solo film set before Infinity War to explore this kind of thing. Still, it was good to see Steve and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) reunite, but I wish we (and Rogers) had gotten an idea of Bucky's newfound peace. I like the idea of Bucky finding his place as White Wolf in Wakanda instead of taking over as Captain America, so some idea of what he's been doing beyond recovering would've been nice. I wish that Cap's other bestie, Sam, had gotten more than an extended cameo here; at the very least, both he and Rhodey (Don Cheadle) should've have something to say upon seeing Wakanda for the first time (as pointed out here). I guess the writers wanted to focus on the characters who'd be vanishing so their loss would hit harder—and the original heroes are said to get the spotlight in the next film before we say goodbye—but small moments like that would've added a lot (especially as Sam vanished). However, I was glad to hear Rhodey had turned on the Sokovia Accords in the time since Civil War; it seems all the heroes on Tony’s side have realized how bad an idea it is, which is a nice vindication for Cap (Spidey hasn't signed or commented on them at all, perhaps because he's a minor and isn't thinking about the big picture).

It would've been nice to see more of how Wakanda had begun opening itself to the world beyond staging the final battle there. Does T’Challa have a specific plan for his outreach centers? Okoye's comment about imagining Wakanda taking part in the Olympics or getting a Starbucks was funny, but I wanted more. More pointedly, how do the people view T'Challa's decision? Is there any dissension, especially when his choice immediately brings a war to their doorstep? I really would’ve liked to see T’Challa convincing the people to take on this struggle (at the very least, Black Panther 2 needs to discuss this). If nothing else, his role as King could’ve made him a starker contrast to the other heroes. It seems T’Challa and Cap’s strategy held off Thanos’ forces long enough for Shuri to copy Vision’s AI, so even though his body was destroyed he could come back though honestly I'm not sure he's necessary. I don't really get Vision, so it could just be me, but his story seems to have come to an end. I appreciate that he isn't written like a cliché robot seeking humanity (or seeking to eliminate it), but his purely analytical outlook from Age of Ultron and Civil War seems to have largely faded, he isn't protecting the world like Stark created him to at all (as a friend of mine pointed out), he seems potentially too powerful to fully use his abilities, and I don't really see what he adds to the overall universe at this point. I do buy his love for Wanda (and hers for him) as well as their connection over the mysteriousness of their origins, though. Given all she's been through and the incident that sparked the Sokovia Accords, I don't blame Wanda for wanting a normal life with Vision. However, it would've been nice to get a glimpse of her view on the world post-Civil War and how she felt about being tied to a cosmic force like the Infinity Stones that already mutated her and her brother and now threatened her love. I liked the twist that Wanda could destroy the Mind Stone since it was used to create her powers and that she was perhaps the most powerful Avenger. One of the other most powerful, Hulk, got an unexpected arc that didn't fully land for me. I'm all for Hulk having his own character development, but if his refusal to show himself really was fear after his beating from Thanos (as fans have speculated), that wasn't clear. Instead, it felt like they played Banner's inability to transform as a joke. I was also underwhelmed by the moment touching on the Bruce/Nat relationship. I'm not a fan of that relationship in general—she doesn't need to date anyone, but if she were going to, she and Cap had the best chemistry and "opposites attract" spark—but this is what we've got and they need to deal with it. The awkwardness of their reunion didn't cut it for me.

As far as reunions go, it was a bummer that Thor and Loki’s (Tom HIddleston) peace after Ragnarok was immediately cut short here. While I felt it was time for Loki’s death—too many wishy-washy alliances and betrayals over the years wore out his welcome for me and Ragnarok established that he was aiming to be a lazy king, defanging his villainy—I’m glad he finished his arc and found real peace with Thor. I thought telling Thanos to kill his brother felt a little off at first, but I suppose making it seem like he’d put up a fight to keep the Tesseract was part of his elaborate plan to try to kill Thanos (as was bringing up that he’d worked for him before). It was also a little disappointing that the Asgardians took another huge hit to their population here and are apparently just left floating in space. I certainly hope Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) survived and can join the fight to get revenge on Thanos; losing so many of her people again has got to have an impact and I'd love to see the lessons about heroism Thor imparted to her inspire her to stand up rather than run away this time. Maybe she could become something of a queen of Asgard and lead the survivors to a new home! Even beyond losing half of his people, Thor going over all the family and friends he’d lost with Rocket was a somber moment and Rocket’s attempts at consolation were a nice gesture. I felt like Infinity War found a perfect balance of Thor’s humorous and serious sides, and I hope it sticks around. The bond Thor and Rocket developed was a highlight of the film, even if their quest to get Thor a new weapon a movie after establishing he didn’t need one was a little odd (as others have noted). I can’t wait to see how Rocket grows after losing all his family, especially now that we know Teen Groot’s last word to him was “Dad…” That’s heartbreaking! Moody Teen Groot was a very entertaining addition to the Guardians and they got a lot of mileage out of making the Guardians his “parents.” Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is another strong addition who gelled well with the rest of her crew thanks to her enthusiasm for “kicking names and taking ass!” I’m glad she stuck around after Guardians 2. I was impressed that she got to play such an important and powerful role against Thanos when they tried getting his glove off. I still prefer Drax’s (Dave Bautista) original “takes everything literally” personality from the first Guardians, but I liked his humor here a lot better than in the second film (where it seemed to settle on “states the obvious” instead). “Perfecting” invisibility by standing totally still was hilarious! I’m glad he got a chance to avenge his family, even if it didn’t work out and nearly cost them everything. If only Quill had learned a lesson from that failure! I don't think the movies should follow the comics in having Thanos see the error of his ways while Nebula (Karen Gillan) becomes the real villain. It's a cliché that a woman achieves ultimate power only to become evil, so I’d be much more interested in seeing her interact with Tony (maybe they make something of their biology-infused tech similarities?) than going off the deep end. True Thanos' torture of her was horrific, but I'd like to see her take a healthier path instead of spiraling into insanity after all the pain she's had to endure.

I was wary of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) making Quill promise to kill her if things went bad in their attempt to stop Thanos from collecting all the Stones because she knew where the Soul Stone was hidden, as it seemed like that could lead to fridging her. Ultimately, though, that request being her choice and the fact that she was killed for more than fueling Quill's angst avoided that (though she does fuel Thanos’). I don't have a problem with him getting emotional and punching Thanos when he found out about Gamora, but I wish that scene had been staged differently. I thought we got a good amount of range from Pratt in the film, from that sadness to his romance with Gamora to bickering with Stark to the comedy surrounding his confidence issues around Thor. Star-Lord copying Thor's accent was unexpectedly fun and it was great to see Stark's dismissive attitude thrown back in his face. The similarities between Stark and Strange were also fun, and I enjoyed Strange's completely different point of view from everyone else when it came to saving the day: he had no problem sacrificing anyone. That perspective is one I would've thought would belong to someone with universal experience like Thor or who’s coldly calculating like Vision, but it was nice to see a human thinking beyond their planet, even if I agree with Cap's "we don't trade lives" philosophy and not Strange's "sacrifice whoever it takes" outlook. I thought he'd given Thanos something other than the Time Stone when he traded it "to save Tony," and like a friend of mine suggested, he probably rigged it in some way to give the heroes a chance.

I thought it was incredible that, despite some iffy CGI in a couple of wide shots, Josh Brolin was able to emote so clearly as Thanos. I'm not sure I've seen a CGI villain in a live-action movie done this well technically, and it certainly helped that the writers let Thanos experience loss and remorse. I was impressed they included his emotional side and gave him an arc, but I do have an issue with that remorse: despite Brolin selling the feeling of a man who thought he was giving up what he loved most, Gamora is right and what he's framed as love is anything but. It's abuse and as others have pointed out, I'm not sure why he loved Gamora in the first place. His "adoption"/kidnapping of her felt a little random and turning her face away from the murder of half her people did nothing to convince me he was a caring parent (I'm also unclear as to why she was so transfixed by a knife he gave her that she forgot about her missing mom), nor do the facts that he turned her into an assassin and later killed her. As a friend pointed out, I wish we’d seen more focus on Gamora's view of being raised by Thanos in Guardians 2 to increase the complexity of their relationship. Even if we had (and her laughing in his face when she finds out he has to sacrifice something he loves gives us a good indication of it), I still wouldn’t sympathize with Thanos…if he really loved her, he would’ve let her live and would’ve abandoned his plan when it came down to choosing between them. The more I think about it, the more troubled I am by the implications of the Soul Stone trade. Since Thanos' task is to sacrifice something he loves and he's successful, it implies that whatever cosmic judgment holds the Stone agrees that what he felt for Gamora is love. Unless the Young Gamora (Ariana Greenblatt) in the Stone at the end is a punishment to torture him for an impure trade (which I'd be fine with)—I imagine she’s actually adult Gamora using a form that will turn the screws on Thanos harder, and her Soul enduring there will allow her to come back to life—this is a pretty messed-up message and it’s my biggest issue with the movie. 

I would've preferred keeping Thanos' comic motivation of becoming the universe's greatest killer to impress the physical embodiment of Death by showing what an awesome guy he is (to which she shrugs, having done better herself); playing the galaxy's greatest scourge as a Nice Guy would've been an unexpected way to make him relatable and of the moment without really having to modernize him at all. That said, trying to kill half the universe to save it from overpopulation is a fine egomaniacal supervillain motivation (no, internet thinkpieces, he is not a hero), even if I wish the heroes had pointed out the flaws in his logic (as others have pointed out online) and how foolish this plan is. For example, unless he also makes the survivors immortal and sterile, people will still breed and kill each other, throwing his precious balance out of whack within a generation or two (and his sunset retirement at the end doesn't imply he thinks he’ll have to conduct regular cullings). He also gives no consideration to how the resources he's "saved" will be used on each planet, leading me to think that things are going to immediately descend into chaos as the survivors try to take all they can (especially if the majority of any given people's governments survived to maintain their status quo). And as I've seen elsewhere, what if a people were already using resources responsibly and he killed them without bothering to check? Better yet, why doesn't he just create an infinite set of resources with his all-powerful glove? Forcing him to confront flaws in his plan would give us more insight into his thought process, or at least the justification he's sold himself. If the Gauntlet can only destroy and not create for some reason, explaining that would've served to make Thanos seem more backed into a corner and desperate, making his thought process seem slightly more "necessary." Instead, he comes off as a lunatic (yes, he’s known as the Mad Titan) who couldn't get over his one terrible idea because he confused the mismanagement of Titan's resources with proof he was right and not crazy. I've seen comments suggesting he be seen as a conservative politician, only concerned with fawning over his ideology instead of seeing the detrimental effects it has on the people, and that's not a bad take: looking at him as an outdated fringe "visionary" who won't learn/evolve his thinking or question his way of doing things helps quite a bit. I feel like these questions and the sheer outlandishness of his plot ranks him far below the best MCU villains like Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), Vulture (Michael Keaton), and Hela (Cate Blanchett), who all went to terrible extremes, but at least had motivations that were somewhat understandable and tethered to reality. He was still a powerful threat who truly required all the heroes working together, though.

Thanos' "children" (Terry Notary, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Carrie Coon, Michael James Shaw, Monique Ganderton) were fine as lackeys, which is all they needed to be. I wish X-men Apocalypse had taken a similar tack with the Horsemen instead of using famous mutants: we don't need to know characters who are essentially zealot thugs. I did appreciate how warped they were to Thanos' way of thinking, though. They also proved to be worthy matches for the heroes before facing the Mad Titan himself.

Infinity War has an incredible sense of scope, giving the impression that the Marvel cosmos are vast, but it was odd they were largely devoid of people (even on Earth). Showing more than just wreckage would've upped the stakes and impact of Thanos' climactic actions while also showing the overpopulation “problem” he seeks to solve. The pacing moves the film along really well, even with the film being as packed as it is (though it doesn’t feel overstuffed). I loved that they were willing to have imaginative fun with the Infinity Gauntlet's powers, like turning laser blasts into bubbles, throwing a moon at our heroes, literally unraveling Mantis, and turning Drax into blocks. I’m all for more weirdness like that! The action is thrilling and moves very well for the vast majority of the film, with one major exception. A pivotal battle with Thanos on Titan has Iron Man, Spidey, Strange, and several Guardians struggling to hold him long enough to steal his Gauntlet. They almost succeed, but Star-Lord messes up his own plan (when it's revealed Gamora is dead) by punching Thanos in the face, knocking Mantis (who's psychically subduing him) away and freeing Thanos. I don't have a problem with Quill reacting to the news emotionally, but the staging of the scene offers at least two ways the heroes could've won right there: Nebula does nothing when she could've been stabbing Thanos in the face, and either she or Strange could’ve cut off his arm to free the Gauntlet. I know the movie can't end there, so knock Nebula out or otherwise busy her and Strange before writing yourself into a situation that raises these questions. Or they could've let Thanos lose his arm, yet still regain the glove through brute force or cunning before the heroes could get a handle on how to use it: showing him as a scrappy underdog for a moment would make him look more dangerous (and more appealing to the audience). 

Despite an ad campaign suggesting a culmination of the MCU, Infinity War feels more like a seamless continuation of it. I'm glad they hit the ground running and didn't take the time to re-introduce everyone, except when it made sense, like the Guardians and Thor meeting for the first time. This will be detrimental for anyone coming into the film having missed earlier entries, but I think it works for this series. Reveals of familiar characters and locations, like Cap and Wakanda, made me smile. It was also great to finally get an answer to a dangling question about Red Skull's (recast with Ross Marquand) whereabouts in a completely unexpected way! I understand why they ended the movie on the beat they did, but part of me wishes this hadn't been a two-parter: I'd like there to be more adventures than just Thanos Round Two. I don't have a problem with the MCU going on indefinitely, but I do want them to take the time to continually develop and change the characters, and disparate threats would be a great way to challenge them differently. Between changes, we also need to spend time in their status quos to see how they react to each new normal. That's the weakness of movies vs. shows, though, and it seems highly unlikely the MCU is willing to give that much time to its movie heroes.

Infinity War felt like a true comic book crossover and that's the direction I want the Avengers films to take: they should be the crossovers with MCU-altering events while the solo franchises are just that, exploring the worlds of each character while focusing on character development. However, like the revolving door of death in the comics, a lot of the impact of this finale is going to come down to how the fallout is handled. I feel there are three necessary components to making the ending of Infinity War matter: the survivors need to be changed by losing their friends and half the general populace, the victims need to be changed by their experience as well, and we need to see what happened to the world in the wake of Thanos' Snap. Regardless of how the Snap is undone, everyone should remember what happened to give the events weight. Since I don't think Infinity War 2 will have time to deal with (and say a final goodbye to) the original Avengers, let everyone have a moment to shine, chase down Thanos, undo what he did, and really explore the state of the post-Snap world (one scene of Cap and Co. stopping a riot or something and saying "it's gotten crazy out here" would be deeply unsatisfying IMO), the world-building should be mostly left to the MCU offerings that are coming out next. Ant-Man & the Wasp and Captain Marvel are coming out before Infinity War 2, but Ant-Man is supposedly happening concurrently with/just before Infinity War and Captain Marvel is set in the 1990s. However, Luke Cage Season 2, Cloak & Dagger, and possibly The Runaways Season 2 would all fall into this range and could explore the world from several different angles. I thought the mass vanishing would've been the perfect chance to finally let the TV characters join the Avengers in a unified universe, but I'll settle for the shows handling the fallout.

There's so much potential with this scenario that it would be a massive wasted opportunity not to do anything with it. With the world losing half its population, there are plenty of opportunities for supervillains (or just regular people) to exploit the problem. Do people stop caring about values and basic decency in a world where half the planet can vanish? Are they all hoarding resources and killing each other over them, fearing another culling? Are there others who find their inner, everyday hero and help their fellow people? Maybe superheroes are forced to take extreme measures to defend their local turf. What happens to religion? Do some people think this is the Rapture (a critic referred to it as "the Snapture," which might be perfect)? Are there new religious beliefs rising out of this; perhaps a cult that believes in what the Snap "accomplished?" Society as we know it could crumble and every nation could be in danger of falling. This is the perfect time for superheroes to step up and for SHIELD to finally reclaim its position as a global force for good. It’s a shame Agents of SHIELD isn’t coming back until the summer after Infinity War 2, since it would’ve been the ideal vehicle to explore this world. Even when Infinity War 2 undoes this, it'll only have weight if everyone remembers what happened, so SHIELD and other heroes working to save everyone from themselves wouldn't be in vain even if the Avengers are the ones who actually save the world. No matter what happens, half the population vanishing is a fascinating premise fraught with drama, and something in the MCU needs to explore it; if they gloss over all that, this will have been truly empty.

That emptiness is a problem I had with a lot of the deaths. It's not just that it's clear these heroes will be brought back—if they remember what happened and it changes them, it won't be pointless—but they didn't die for anything. They were slaughtered for nothing, which left a bad taste in my mouth; if they'd at least chosen to go out fighting or if Thanos cared about who he was killing instead of being randomly "fair" about it, I feel like I would've felt them more. I was disappointed to see a few of them go, like T'Challa, but it was Tom Holland who really got me with his "I don't wanna go." That was heartbreaking and nearly made me cry!

It would be nice if the Defenders who survived the Snap got promoted to Avengers status in the interim, but I doubt that will happen. I've seen suggestions elsewhere that the heroes who got Snapped could form a "New Avengers" within the Soul Stone to fight their way out and that could be cool, but I hope the focus of Infinity War 2 is on the original six Avengers since it will probably be their last mission. They can deal with what the Snapped heroes went through in their future solo films.

I think it'd be cool if Nick Fury's (Samuel L. Jackson) beeper actually contacted Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in the 90s (just chalk the time zone difference up to Kree or Skrull tech). This could be why he chose to summon her for help: being in the past, she wouldn't be affected by the disintegration wave.

In terms of the longer-term plans, I don't want another long build-up to something; I hope Infinity War 2 is the end of long-form plotting in the MCU, at least for the next few phases. We don't need a years-long build-up to Secret Wars or something, and not every threat has to spring from the previous one in some manner.

 Infinity War is big, fun, and action-packed with plenty of crowd-pleasing moments (and some that truly pull at your heartstrings), but it's not one of my favorite MCU films. I think it falls somewhere in the middle, but in terms of spectacle it's one of their finest outings. It's definitely worth a trip to the theater!

  Check out more of my reviews, opinions, theories, and original short stories here!

[language-rxgers]

Best Boyfriend You’ve Never Had (Bucky x Reader)- Part 3

Summary: The wedding is now in two weeks, and the Reader and Bucky do some planning on the backstory of their ‘relationship’. A mission doesn’t go as expected, and Steve suggests the reader and Bucky head for the wedding early as a well-earned break. 

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Reader, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Bruce Banner (briefly mentioned), Thor Odinson (briefly mentioned), Maria Hill (briefly mentioned), Helen Cho (briefly mentioned)

Warnings: Panic attack, slight angst, comforting, cuddling, fluff

Word Count: 3634 (holy cow!)

Masterlist

Part 2 (Previous) / Part 4

You were sitting in your room, reading a book with the TV quietly playing a random show for background noise, your attention consumed by the plot unraveling in the pages under your gaze. Your fingers fiddled with the corner of the page you were reading before eagerly turning it to the next, your brow furrowed in bewilderment. You barely registered the soft rapping of knuckles on your doorframe until the sound of your name spoken in the voice you knew so well pulled you from the world of Paul Sheldon and the psychotic Annie Wilkes. Your eyes reluctantly tore their gaze from the story to the doorway, soaking in the sight of Bucky leaning relaxed against the frame, arms crossed and long dark locks tucked behind his ears. You smiled in greeting. He was dressed in a black V-neck tee with dark grey sweatpants resting low on his hips, feet clad in the fuzzy red and green striped reading socks you’d bought him for Christmas last year. He looked as comfortable as you felt in his presence.

“Hey stranger,” you spoke softly, as if afraid to break the peaceful ambience that had settled in your room at the late hour. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you all day, where ya been?” You closed your book and set it down as you turned to face the broad-shouldered man. He shrugged.

“Had some stuff to get done, been running all around the city. But I tell ya, the only thing I could think about all day was gettin’ back and spending the evening with my best girl.” He grinned in an almost boy-like manner, like a child who was hopefully awaiting a response after asking for a second cookie. You couldn’t help the beam that spread across your face, the giddy flutter in your chest that was always expected after Bucky chose to hang out with you. You couldn’t describe the feeling that came with knowing that in that moment, he had chosen to spend time with you, and only you.

You patted the space on your bed beside you, lifting your covers as you climbed under them. The Brooklynite’s grin seemed to grow even wider as he nearly jumped into the bed with you throwing an arm around your shoulders as he pulled you close and held you tight.

You had never been someone who was very comfortable with physical contact, enjoying your personal space. In fact, you had never been too touchy-feely in any of the aspects of the topic; as an adolescent and young adult, you rarely said ‘I love you’, hardly gave hugs, barely even gave a reassuring pat of the shoulder when comforting a friend. There was no dark or tragic reason behind your aversion to it, it was just your personality. However, there had always been a small part of you that yearned for someone with whom you could be that comfortable, someone with whom you could let down your walls and be every version of yourself without fear of being judged or scaring them off.

Bucky had been the same way for, obviously, his own valid reasons, of course, and when you’d first met him, you’d taken to each other quite well due to your mutual understanding and respect of each other’s need for personal space. However, as you grew closer and helped each other out of your shells, you slowly became that person for the other. That one with whom you could be comfortable, with whom you could laugh and hug and cry and rant about the littlest things and sit in silence for hours with just the comfort of each other’s company and touch. It felt so liberating, like the weight of never being able to let yourself go and be any version of yourself without fear of judgment was suddenly lifted, like the anvil it had seemed to you was in reality no more than a lightweight feather. Bucky was your person, and you his.

You wrapped your arms around him tightly, feeling all your stresses from the responsibilities of your life and job- two things that were essentially one and the same- slowly melt away in his presence. You let out a content breath, closing your eyes for a brief moment. Bucky reached forward and grabbed the book at the foot of your bed before returning to his prior position, turning it over to see the cover.

“Misery? What’s that about?” You chuckled softly.

“It’s a Stephen King book, s'about an author who gets in a car accident in the middle of nowhere and is pulled out of the wreckage by a woman who turns out to be his biggest fan. She takes him to her house and takes care of him, nursing him back to health, but she finds out that in his newest book, her favorite character Misery is killed off. She forces him to write her a new installment to her liking, and basically keeps him captive in her house in the middle of nowhere as he writes this new story. Chick is batshit crazy, and some other stuff goes down, but that’s the gist of it.”

Bucky let out a thoughtful hum as he flips through the pages. “Sounds pretty miserable.”

“Sure is. Looks like Mr. King chose a fitting title.” You tapped the cover of the book before resting your hand on his chest. You heard a soft thump as Bucky tossed the book back on the bed. Bucky drummed his fingers against your shoulder in an almost thoughtful rhythm.

“So, I’ve recently come to a realization…” you raised an eyebrow in intrigue at his conversation starter. “I’ll be pretending to be your date in two weeks and I don’t know anything about your family, really. I mean, I know the basics, but we’ve never really talked about it.” You furrowed your brows when you realized he was right. It had been almost six weeks since you and Bucky made your arrangement- four since Nat, Wanda and Sam had been made aware of it, and while you had noticed Bucky had been- if possible- even more present in your day to day life since then, you hadn’t actually taken the time to form a plan on your relationship’s backstory or educate him on important information of your family.

He, however, had been certainly outdoing himself as he practiced at being a suitable boyfriend, buying you surprise bouquets of flowers after missions and making coffee for you extra early in the mornings just the way you like it.

“Well, doll, if we’re gonna be a ‘couple’, it’s gotta look like it. We gotta get into some kinda routine if we’re ever gonna convince your family we’re dating. We gotta convince ourselves, so we don’t slip up, I mean.” Bucky had hastily explained when you’d finally questioned his sudden acts of extended chivalry. You had felt your heart drop an inch as you were suddenly snapped out of your ridiculous hoping and reminded that this was all just a ploy. He wasn’t actually interested, just a very devoted friend. That’s all this was, a con to get your family off your back. After the wedding, it would go back to how it was before, playful teasing and playing the wingman/wingwoman for each other at dingy bars on cold Saturday nights.

You nodded thoughtfully. “Oh. Right, I suppose we should figure out what our backstory is, and make sure you actually know who you’ll be spending the weekend with.” You sat up, reaching for your phone before settling back into bed, this time beside Bucky rather than against him. You went into your camera roll, clicking on the album of photos you had taken at your last family reunion a few years ago.

“Now, you know about my mom, Trish, and my dad, Bill-” you pointed to your parents in the picture on the screen. “Then my younger sister Catherine- she’s the one who’s getting married.” You swiped to the next photo. “That’s my uncle, Joe- my dad’s brother, and his wife, Claire. They have two twin sons who are my age, Connor and Joel. The girls in the photo are Connor and Joel’s girlfriends, Holly and Sarah, but Joel and Sarah aren’t together anymore; it’s kind of a funny story, actually…”

You woke up with your cheek squished against your hand, which was resting flat on something broad and hard. You felt your head slowly rising and lowering in even measures- more specifically, the surface on which your head rested- and you sloppily slipped your numb hand out from under your cheek and shook it out, lazily looking up to meet the sight of your best friend looking more peaceful then you’d ever seen him before. Eyes resting shut with long lashes dusting over angular cheekbones, somewhat chapped lips parted slightly to let out soft and deep breaths. You stared in wonder at the sight before you before you realized how weird this must have looked. Staring longingly at the man you were secretly in love with while he slept? How’s that for a creepy cliché?

You rested your head back down on his chest and tried to fall back asleep, but found yourself unable to get your scrambled thoughts to settle in your mind. The wedding is in two weeks. Two weeks. And you had a weeklong mission tomorrow. No, wait, that’s not right. The mission was tomorrow yesterday, so doesn’t that mean…

Your head snapped up in panic. “Shit!” You scrambled up from the bed, effectively awakening the previously peacefully sleeping man beside you. “Buck, get up, we’re gonna be late for the briefing!” You flew around your room, gathering your things and packing your bag before dashing into your closet to change into your gear. You only checked the time after you were done brushing your hair and teeth, seeing you were five minutes late for the briefing. You hurried out of your bathroom only to catch a glimpse of your best friend’s wispy locks before he disappeared out your door. You paused as you noticed your previously unmade bed sitting in the middle of the room, the covers now neatly pulled up and tucked under the pillows, a torn piece of paper sitting in the center of the mattress.

‘Test me about your family on the jet.

-B’

For an unexplained reason you felt a giddy grin spread across your cheeks, and with that, you were out the door, the note firmly in your grasp.

You and Bucky met again as you rushed to the briefing room, sharing a paniked smile before hurrying through the glass doors where the rest of the team were already sitting, Steve in the middle of a sentence.

“Sorry we’re late, we overslept, won’t happen again, Captain,” you rambled apologetically, fixing your hair into a quick ponytail as you caught your breath. Steve’s mouth was slightly agape at the sudden interruption, face stoic and unimpressed.

His expression suddenly changed to possess an amused yet contrastingly almost disapproving-father-like quality. He put a hand on his hip as he stood tall and straight, the other gripping a glossy tablet. “Both of you?” He slightly quirked his head, awaiting an answer. Natasha smirked, and you knew you wouldn’t hear the end of it the whole ride to the mission. You felt your face grow uncomfortably hot, and you knew you were probably beet red by now.

“U-uh, we-” you had no idea how to form a sentence that Sam and Tony wouldn’t overanalyze to death for sexual innuendos. Thankfully, Bucky stepped in, silver tongue saving the day once again.

“(Y/N) and I were talking last night about the wedding and fell asleep on her bed. It was pretty late, so we overslept. Sorry, pal, won’t happen again.” You nodded along with his apology, sliding into a seat and cleared your throat.

“So, what did we miss?” You blatantly ignored the pointed smirks plastered across the faces of Natasha, Sam and Wanda. The rest of the team was a little more subtle, thankfully, but you knew they were all thinking the same thing. It wasn’t easy to hide the fact that you and Bucky were going to a wedding together for two months, so after you made the mistake of spilling the beans to the three amigos, it was less than 24 hours before Sam had blabbed to the rest of the team. Well, not everything, and not everyone. He had only told Steve that Bucky was going with you to your sister’s wedding as a friend, which you’d appreciated greatly. However, Tony had overheard the conversation and then he had told Bruce and Bruce asked Nat about it who had then confirmed Sam’s version. Thor had heard from Steve during one of Tony’s post-mission parties last week, and then suddenly Maria and Helen were unsubtly inquiring about it during girls’ night with you, them, Nat and Wanda a few nights after. So, while the fact that Bucky was playing the boyfriend had managed to remain between you, Nat, Wanda and Sam, you and the dark-haired soldier had been incessantly teased by the rest of the team, namely Tony, the past month of your lives filled with raised eyebrows, not-so-subtle innuendos and Tony’s many attempts at making a couple name for you, none of which having- thankfully- caught on yet.

Steve, who had been the least difficult, took in a breath- his equivalent of “anyway…”- as he got into the briefing once more.

“Steve, what the hell was that?” You stopped the captain as the rest of the team filtered off the jet, all shaken from the mission. It wasn’t particularly difficult, just a smash and grab hostage rescue, but one thing that had not been revealed was the fact that the key target of the HYDRA group who had infiltrated a political meeting in France was none other than the daughter of Alexander Pierce. Bucky had immediately shut down, and you’d only just been able to get him back to the quinjet before his panic attack reared its head. You’d managed to calm him down, staying with him for the rest of the mission on the jet after explaining where you’d gone to the team.

It had been so long since you’d had to comfort Bucky through such an episode; this was only the second one since he’d returned from Wakanda, and in that moment you had felt a pure, blinding rage burn in your chest at Steve for having Bucky face one of the biggest demons of his past once again, though when you’d later had time to reflect, you understood that Steve would have never allowed Bucky to come along had he known all the details. But even if it wasn’t Steve’s fault, Bucky had still suffered. Seeing a piece of the man who had forced him to do such awful things, slowly tearing away piece after piece of the version of himself that Bucky had been desperately trying to hold on to through all those years, it had for a moment sent the man spiraling back to square one. For a moment. And then he had come back to you.

“Shh, Bucky, you’re okay, you’re safe, you’re here. I’m here, it’s (Y/N), I’m right here with you. You’re not alone. Pierce is dead, he’s gone, he’ll never hurt you again, Bucky please, please come back to me…” you rubbed gentle circles into the hyperventilating soldier’s back as he curled into himself, eyes squeezed shut and jaw clenched painfully tight. Strong hands tangled in long dark hair, pulling roughly as he shook his head over and over again.

“James Buchanan Barnes, listen to me,” you spoke soft but firm, gently resting a hand on his knee to ground him. You placed your other hand over one of his, still tightly gripping his head, knuckles white with strain. You rubbed your thumb over his skin. When Bucky had been taken into custody after the bombing of the UN and he had been interrogated by Zemo, you’d noticed one thing while listening. When Zemo had called him James, the somber captive had spat out that his name was Bucky, not James. In that moment, you’d realized his name was grounding for him; being able to identify that he wasn’t Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th infantry, he wasn’t the Winter Soldier, he was Bucky, best friend of Steve Rogers and the only person he wants to be. “James, do you remember your name?” You pressed.

Bucky’s chest visibly tightened, his eyes squeezing impossibly tighter, jaw now set in determination. “Bucky.”

“What’s that?” You compelled him to repeat himself, to convince himself, to ground himself.

He let out a strangled grunt as he tried to slow his breathing. “My name, is Bucky.”

“What’s your name?”

His eyes snapped open, staring into your own. You could see the determination in his icy blue orbs. “My name is Bucky Barnes.”

“You’re damn right it is.”

As you reached for Steve’s shoulder and roughly turned him to face you, you were taken aback by the pure shock in his sea-blue eyes. “I-I didn’t know. I didn’t know. They didn’t tell me, I swear, I’d have never… I didn’t know, (Y/N).” You felt guilt wash over you in waves, crashing against the walls of your chest as you pulled the super soldier into a hug.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry I yelled at you. I know you’d have never let him go along if you’d known. It’s okay. He doesn’t blame you. It’s not your fault. I was just scared.”

Steve gripped you tightly as he shook his head. “I think you should go early.” You frowned at his mumbled comment into your shoulder.

“Pardon?”

Steve straightened up, running a hand over his face as he composed himself. “I think you and Bucky should go to see your family early. He needs it, an escape from all… this. Especially now. He needs to recuperate, be in a place where there’s nothing that can threaten all the progress we’ve made.” You nodded. The wedding was in two weeks, but you new Bucky could definitely use a break, and your family wouldn’t mind you coming early.

“You can leave tomorrow if you’d like.”

“Okay, tell me again.” You were on the plane to your hometown, and your knee hadn’t stopped bouncing the whole flight. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“(Y/N), we’ve been over this so many times, I won’t forget anything.” You gave him a pointed look, asking him to humor you. He sighed.

“Your mom’s name is Trish and your dad’s name is Bill. She is a grade 2 teacher and he’s a mechanic. Your sister Catherine is two years younger than you and is getting married to a guy named Thomas. Your dog is named Ace, he’s a golden lab-boxer mix and is the only member I’m looking forward to meeting.” You jabbed his ribs with your elbow.

“I’m kidding!” He chuckled as he nursed his side.

“And us?” Bucky smoothed out his shirt and fixed an imaginary necktie before clearing his throat and taking a deep breath dramatically. You snorted at his theatricality.

“We’ve been dating for six months and two weeks; our anniversary is the 10th of March because I asked you out on my birthday after I told you that you were what I wished for.” You smiled at this. Bucky had suggested this detail. “For our six month anniversary, if anyone asks, I made you a home cooked meal of roast chicken, seasoned rice, green beans and sautéed mushrooms, your favorite meal from back home, and I bought you a bouquet of orange tiger lilies, your favorite flower.” You were still surprised when Bucky had suggested this, touched that he’d remembered you mentioning your fondness of the flowers in passing when you were telling him about your family early in your friendship. “Our relationship is obviously serious enough that I’m attending your sister’s wedding with you, but we haven’t yet talked about our future other than what we want eventually in life, so we’re just going with it at the moment. Our jobs are hectic, but we make it work, and we’re happy.”

You couldn’t help as the corners of your lips tugged upwards at his words. Even if you’d gone over this extensively during the flight and it was all just a ruse, you still felt a flutter in your chest at his words. Even if it was all pretend, even if none of those things had happened and he didn’t mean anything he was saying, you allowed yourself for a moment to believe that this was real. That Bucky was in fact in a relationship with you and you were blissfully happy. That he had eyes only for you, and he cared so deeply for you. That he maybe even loved you…

You shook yourself out of your thoughts, chastising yourself as you cleared your throat. “Yep, that sounds good. They’ll, uh… they’ll eat it right up.” Bucky’s proud smile seemed to falter for a moment as he studied your eyes before picking up brighter than ever, and he bumped your shoulder with his.

“We’re so gonna be couple goals,” he grinned. You rolled your eyes. “It will be lit,” he announced, and you groaned. You should not have shown him that modern slang website.

“Oh God, do not say that when we get there.” You put a hand over your face. This would be a long two weeks.

Part 2 (Previous) / Part 4 (Next)

A/N: Sorry for the wait, this was kind of a filler chapter to fill you in on what’s happened over the time skip (because two months is a long time and the real action will all happen in the two weeks leading up to the wedding and then after). Once again, part 4 will most likely be up sometime this week. Thank you for all your support!

Tag list- Sorry if I’ve missed anyone, let me know and I’ll be sure to add you! Strikethrough means the blog couldn’t be tagged.

@chaosinacoffeecup @the-instrumental-mortal @satans-knitting-club @starkxpotts @bexboo616 @learisa @socialheartbreak @la-meneur-louve @burningbiatch

[redsoapbox]

MY TOP TEN CHRISTMAS MOVIES

Now that December is finally here, the McGrath household can upgrade the nightly Christmas movie from Hallmark seasonal romance to accepted Christmas classic. (Although in admitting defeat on winning the girls over on Miracle on 34th Street - either version) - I have to acknowledge that the list of films that we can all agree on as festive classics is a little shorter than I would like.

Here is my list of top ten Christmas movies -

10. The Santa Clause (1994) - John Pasquin

John Pasquin’s cinematic debut, he had previously worked on numerous T.V. shows including Newhart and Thirtysomething, opens with the risky gambit of having Santa fall to his death from the roof of Scott Calvin’s home. Calvin (Tim Allen), believing his home is being burgled, confronts Santa and startles him into plummeting to his doom. Before you know it, and after much urging from his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), Calvin has donned the big red suit and his transformation into Santa has begun.

The Santa Clause combines rather broad comedy - there is much fun to be had with Calvin’s overnight weight gain and Charlie’s class presentation on how his Dad is actually Santa - with the usual Christmas sentiment. In this particular case, the healing of Scott’s relationship with Charlie and ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson).

A pre-Buzz Lightyear Allen gives a virtuoso performance as the would-be St Nick, and that went a long way to making the film a hit at the box office, spawning two sequels The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3 (2006).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpzB4ubEqIE

9. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) - Bharat Nallur

I reviewed this thought-provoking film on how Charles Dickens’ saved Christmas at the time of it’s release -

https://pardontheglueman.tumblr.com/post/169301253898/the-man-who-invented-christmas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx3ctBjG6yI

8. Get Santa (2014)  - Christopher Smith

When the always over-generous Empire film magazine only gives a movie two stars, then you know that you are going out on a very thin limb indeed. Still, a lot of what I want from a Christmas movie - a story about redemption, likeable characters with likeable lead actors, a splash of humour, a touch of Christmas magic, and, finally, a guaranteed have-to-make-a-quick-exit-to-the-kitchen-to-compose-myself ending - are all present and correct here. And Get Santa really delivers - like a hard-working postman trudging through six feet of snow on Christmas Eve just to make sure that your Auntie Maureen’s card can take its proper place on your mantelpiece.

Get Santa has a best of British cast too; Rafe Spall as ex-con Steve, Jodie Whittaker as his estranged wife and Jim Broadbent as a banged up Santa. Throw in Stephen Graham, Warwick Davis and Joanna Scanlan and you have the second best cast Christmas movie ever (nothing is ever going to beat Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore and Henry Travers in IAWL).

This may be the film on the list that you are most likely to have not seen, so in an effort to shore up support for this selection, I call my star witness - Mark Kermode who had this to say in his three-star Guardian review ‘It’s sweet -natured fare, boosted with spirited comic performances (Broadbent is a particular treat) and served up with plenty of DIY sparkle’.

7. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Henry Selick

Tim Burton’s unique vision of Christmas/Halloween is brought to life by Henry Selick, a gifted animator who had worked for Walt Disney Studios and in a freelance capacity before making his name with this masterpiece. I simply didn’t get this on release (my admittedly old-fashioned notion of what constitutes a Christmas movie forming a great big mental road block to a full appreciation of the imagination, visual style, black humour, gothic charm and exquisite pathos on display here), and it was only through a recent viewing with my children as part of our Halloween movie get togethers that I finally saw the light. Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon) is a captivating character, brought to life by Danny Elfman’s songs and Selick’s ground breaking animation, and his desperate quest for belonging is one that we can all sympathise with, especially at Christmas. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGiYxCUAhks

6. Remember The Night (1940) - Mitchell Leisen

This is a golden-age of Hollywood classic screwball comedy, starring the legendary Barbara Stanwyck, arguably the greatest comedienne in Hollywood history, Fred MacMurray, arguably the nicest guy in film history (at least until his turn as the murderous Walter Neff in Billy Wilder’s terrific noir Double Indemnity), and penned by arguably the funniest man in film history, Preston Sturges.

James Harvey in his 700-page opus Romantic Comedy in Hollywood (From Lubitsch to Sturges), which is, arguably, the best ever book about Hollywood, reveals that it was the shabby treatment (in Sturges’ not so humble opinion) of his screenplay, and the slow pacing of Leisen’s direction, that drove the screenwriter to extraordinary lengths to gain control of his own movies - basically making a deal with Paramount that he would sell them his next screenplay for a nominal sum of ten dollars as as long as he got to direct the picture. That deal changed movie history, setting the precedent of a writer / director that Orson Welles was soon to follow with Citizen Kane (1941).

The plot is a unique one, not that it truly matters in a Sturges movie, and centres around hardboiled career criminal Lee Leander (Stanwyck) having to choose between spending jail in Christmas or being released into the custody of her prosecuting attorney John Sargant (MacMurray). Hey, I didn’t say it made any sense! Of course, the season works its magic and, hey presto, one reformed criminal later Christmas love is in the air!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKcLcT9dOFk

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - Brian Henson

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the greatest Christmas story ever written, and arguably the main reason that Christmas in Britain is celebrated in quite the way that it is today (see The Man Who Invented Christmas above). There have been all manner of adaptations down the years, and here it is re-imagined as a vehicle for Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy and co in a way that works beyond anybody’s wildest expectations.

All the human drama, the pathos, the cry from the heart for social justice that Dickens conveyed in his peerless book survives this, the most unlikely of screen adaptations. Much of the credit must go to Michael Caine, who despite sharing top billing with a bunch of muppets, emerges as a genuine contender for the crown of greatest screen Scrooge. Throw in a script by Jerry Juhl, which has The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens, narrating his ghostly tale with a straight face, and Paul Williams’ super sing-along songs  “Marley and Marley” “One More Sleep ‘Till Christmas” and “Thankful Heart” , and you have an all time Christmas classic that can be enjoyed by everyone from 1 to 92. Bravo!  

4. ELF -  (2003)  John Favreau

Elf is the Shawshank Redemption of Christmas Movies - no matter who, where  or when you poll an audience, this charmingly comic celebration of Christmas always punches above its weight, getting the better of some very famous films in the process. Elf finished 10th in the IMDB poll for Greatest Christmas Movie and came 2nd in both the Time Out and Radio Times polls. It’s A Wonderful Life always, always comes top, but as someone who is still reeling from Citizen Kane losing first place to Vertigo in Sight and Sound’s celebrated Greatest Movie poll, I can see a time when Elf goes one better too.

Elf has a career-best performance from Will Ferrell, a winningly elfin turn from Zooey Deschanel and a series of fine cameo’s from Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Faizon Love and Peter Dinklage as “angry” elf Miles Finch to recommend it, but it’s the hard to beat combination of laugh-out-loud set pieces, father and son second chances, and an opposites attract love story to top them all that makes this a genuinely affecting festive treat.

3. A Christmas Carol (1999) - David Jones

Of the umpteen takes on Dickens’ grasping miser, of which Alastair Sim’s turn as Scrooge (1951) is by far the most celebrated, I just prefer Patrick Stewart in this excellent T.V. movie. This may seem a deliberately obscure choice, but that is far from the case. Firstly, there is an A-list cast featuring Richard E Grant, Saskia Reeves, Dominic West and, at the top the bill, Stewart himself. 

As Screen Rant describes it, ‘Stewart plays a far more blunt, bitter and straight forward version of the miser... without feeling maniacal’. In short, he underplays the part, keeping the mugging down to a minimum. The clincher, though, is Stewart’s handling of the scene when he awakes to find it is still Christmas morning and that the spirits have granted him a second chance at life after all. He tries to emit a happy, life-affirming laugh, but is so unused to the sensation that he almost chokes himself. Wonderful stuff! There will be all the usual Scrooges to choose from this Christmas - Sim, George C Scott and Albert Finney amongst them, but the Stewart version will be there somewhere in the middle of the night on ITV3. If you peruse the Radio Times long enough you’ll find it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vviOGFiGrHc

2. Miracle on 34th Street - George Seaton (1947)  &  Les Mayfield (1994)

Okay, a bit of false accounting going on here in grouping the two films together. The original is the better version, but I’ve always loved the re-make too. After all, who can’t bring themselves to believe in Dickie Attenborough as Kris Kringle! Both films are perfectly cast - the romantic leads John Payne and Maureen O’ Hara are convincing enough in the black and white original, but are probably just shaded on the chemistry front by Dylan McDermott and Elizabeth Perkins. The unhappy children are sensationally cast, with Natalie Woods and Mara Wilson coming out even. The unthinkable happens, though, when it comes to the playing of Kris Kringle, because although Dickie scores a fab 9 out of 10 on my Santometer, Edmund Gwenn, who picked up a best supporting actor Oscar for his Kringle, scores a perfect 10.

The Oscar-winning original story, by Valentine Davies, must be known to just about everyone by now - a perfectly nice old man, given to the belief that he is really Kris Kringle, becomes, more by accident than design, Macy’s famous department store Santa. No sooner is he in post, than Kris begins to challenge the corporatisation of Christmas, directing customers to other toy stores all over town, where hard up parents can buy their presents at discount prices. He is about to face the sack, when Macy’s realise that he is a great loss leader for them, prompting arch rivals Gimbles to try and nobble him. Kris is committed to an institution for the insane on cooked up charges, and a battle rages to secure his release by Christmas Eve, so that the children of the world won’t be disappointed on Christmas morning! Each film uses an interesting plot device to allow a judge, desperate not to be seen as the man who gives a court ruling that Santa doesn’t exist, a way out without losing face, and there is a happily romantic final scene to round things off in the accepted festive manner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibDD8Y3IJrg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCNbTAtD-jU

1. It’s a Wonderful Life - Frank Capra (1946)

I reviewed this seasonal great for Wales Arts Review last Christmas -

https://www.walesartsreview.org/rewatching-its-wonderful-life/

The next best Christmas films - The Bishop’s Wife, Arthur Christmas, A Christmas Story, Christmas in Connecticut

Merry Christmas to all.

[the-master-cylinder]

SUMMARY A small family relocates to the Sonoran Desert to be closer to the grandparents of the family. Though there are news reports of a spectacular triple supernova and the young granddaughter has seen a glowing alien construction behind the barn, the family is at ease until, one night, a UFO soars overhead and appears to land in the nearby hills. Apparently, the triple supernova has opened a rift in space and time. The family finds that their electrical appliances no longer function, and the youngest daughter of the family has a telepathic encounter with an extraterrestrial. The grandmother, too, sees one of these diminutive creatures beckoning to her, but it soon vanishes.

The grandfather, while trying to start the car, sees that a strange animal is approaching from the distance. The grandfather goes back inside and informs the family that something is coming; before long, a variety of horrific, alien monsters (all of these creatures being of a reptilian or amphibious nature) are proceeding to slaughter each other outside the house; some are trying to break in (after knocking) and kill the family. After a few moments, the UFO appears again and teleports the creatures to a different place. The family take this opportunity to escape to the barn, which is more easily defensible than the house. The family become separated from one another and each hides until sunrise, where they find that they have been launched thousands of years into the future. They meet up with the daughter, who had become separated from the family during one of the time-warp events. She knows, somehow, that everything is going to be fine now. After walking across the desert, they finally see a domed city in the distance, and decide to seek refuge there. The grandfather proclaims that there must be a purpose to all of this. The family walks off into the distance, having survived the day time ended.

Producer Paul Gentry in The Day Time Ended (1979)

PRODUCTION The film was originally conceived by script writers Steve Neill, Paul Gentry, and Wayne Schmidt. The three offered a script for another project to producer Charles Band, who thought it was too expensive to make but offered to produce a science-fiction film if it was based in one or two locations.

Steve Neill is not your everyday, run-of the-mill, bottom-of-the-barrel scraper, however. For the last four years, he’s been making a fine living off his makeup talents, designing and applying material for The Crater Lake Monster, Kingdom of the Spiders, The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover, Demon and various other film features and TV commercials. His partners in the Vortex production, Paul Gentry and Wayne Schmidt, come from the same creative background but don’t have the impressive list of credits.

“I’m a science-fiction fan,” says Schmidt, “doing the convention circuit and the whole bit while writing screenplays no one seemed to buy. Until this came up I was doing a lot of starving.”

What came up was Neill going to work for Charles Band on the young producer’s two SF efforts of last year-End of the World and Laserblast. Suddenly, Neill had found his responsive ear and took no time in exploiting it.

“Steve had the tenacity to walk into work with some spaceship models he designed,” Schmidt relates. “They subsequently caught Charlie’s eye. He grilled Steve as to what they were for and Steve told him they were for a movie he was working on. Charlie was receptive so Steve brought me into it.”

What emerged was a concept alternately titled Race for Antari or Star Racers, concerning, not surprisingly, racers in space. Band was interested not so much in the theme at that point, but the creative package he could create: Neill on makeup, Gentry on SFX and Schmidt on script. Unfortunately, the idea soon became too big for Band’s budget.

“Charlie called me into the office one day,” Neill recalls, “and said, ‘I’ve got some good news and some bad news. First, the bad news is that Star Racers has been shelved. The good news is that I still want a picture from you. I want simplicity, I want one location and I want it this week.’”

Neill accepted the challenge and one hour later came up with the concept of Vortex.

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“Basically,” Schmidt narrates, “it involves a family who moves out to the desert and builds a completely self-sufficient house out there. But due to a space occurrence it turns out that their home is built on what you might call ‘the Bermuda Triangle fault-line.’ It gets whisked into other dimensions and the family goes through all sorts of-how shall I put it?-traumatic experiences. Heh, heh, heh.”

“It seemed to work real well,” Neill takes up the story, “so we drafted it out real fast. We signed three contracts and started the picture based on a one-page synopsis!”

But one page does not a movie make. The spanking new production team of Neill, Gentry and Schmidt had to get a shooting script, they had to get a director, and they had to gather a cast. Suddenly filmmaking wasn’t fun anymore. It was still exciting, but it sure wasn’t fun.

“The scriptwriting went on and on and on,” says Schmidt. “And the film grew in scope until we wound up with a project as involved as our Star Racers. And it was to take close to as much time. It’s not the simple project we started with by any stretch of the imagination. While Charlie handled most of the casting decisions with feedback from the distributors, we started creating the ‘look’ of the film.

“We brought in Lane Liska who worked on Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica to draw up our ideas. Meantime Steve, who had worked with John Bud Cardos on The Dark, called the director and got him in on this one.”

Although a second location was added and the final shooting script called for months of post-production effects work, things were going smoothly. Band had signed Jim Davis, Dorothy Malane, Chris Mitchum, Natasha Ryan and Marcy Lafferty to play the leads, while Cardos began putting his crew together. According to their contracts, Gentry would be the director of photography and head of special effects, Schmidt would discover the wonders of producing by doing a little bit of everything and Neill would oversee it all-valiantly trying to stave off his first ulcer.

The crew descended on Apple Valley for 10 days of location shooting, then things began to get a little dusty. The crew turned out not to be entirely reliable and Gentry was removed as cinematographer.

“The problem with low-budget films,” details Neill, “is that you get crews who are experienced in only that type of film, there is a lot of hiring and firing because they’re, kind of, in-between talents. I hate the watch-watchers, though, the guys who complain all the time then quit on you. If it weren’t for guys like Greg Jein, our model maker, and Joel Goldsmith-Jerry’s son who is doing the sound, the movie wouldn’t stay together. These guys are totally dedicated. I mean, when Paul Gentry was replaced as DP he took it cool. He knew he got aced, but he worked it out smoothly and kept helping. I can’t thank these guys enough.”

Not only was Neill’s patience tried, his wallet was sorely tapped as well. In the movie business, the least little mistake can push the film thousands of dollars over the budget-a lesson the young trio learned the hard way.

“We were supposed to be on location 10 days and we were there 16,” Neill relates. “The government charged us $6500 for use of the land. Beyond that they wanted so much for each actor, so much for each camera, so much for each truck and so much for each car. It cost like $10,000 to rent a dry lake bed. And we didn’t even have to be there!

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“You see, Bud had this idea that a scene which was set to be shot with special effects could be done on location. It called for a sort-of ‘intergalactic spaceship graveyard.’ He had all these friends, he said, who had all these old planes that could be flown down for free, etc., etc. It turned out to be a nightmare. When it came time, there were no free planes. It cost $6000 to fly one plane mockup to the location. It seems that Bud would rather see his old planes out there and shoot it for himself than hand it over to special effects. That’s been a problem.”

Fortunately, the production wasn’t all problems. The stage-bound mock-ups of the house, the barn and the corral turned out better than expected and the SFX were being created with style. All in all, the production values for Vortex marked a new high for Charles Band. The young filmmakers expressed their admiration for the abilities of their youthful boss.

“I’ll give him credit,” Schmidt says. “He was willing to take a chance with three guys who had no “authorized’ experience on a film. He has a lot of courage and for that we owe him a great debt of thanks.”

Neill, while mirroring his partner’s sentiments, also points out one of the problems of low-budget filmmaking. “Charlie is incredible. He signed us for Vortex, Dave Allen for The Primevals, wrapped Tourist Trap and Auditions just before releasing Fairy Tales. And that’s just this year, practically. Our only problem is that he seems to think he’s giving us enough money but he’s not. We’re stretching as hard as we can to make this a great picture.”

The final judgment will come, of course, after Vortex is released and the money starts-or doesn’t start to roll in. Given the returns on Band’s prior contributions to the genre, the trio are confident of a decent showing. But win, lose or draw, they all feel very strongly about the lesson in life their film has taught them.

“All through the production I wanted to strangle people,” says Neill. “But as a producer I couldn’t do it. You’ve got to bite your tongue instead of blowing up. I used to have a really bad temper, but that’s gone now. I learned to smile at people, sometimes leaving a bad taste in my mouth.”

Happily, the best is yet to come for the team. The principal photography is finished and they are now deep into the SFX, their first love.

“The special effects are the nicest part of the production,” says Neill, and his associates concur. “It’s like we’re free of Bud and free of the crew and Charlie has dumped the film in our laps and said, ‘Go for it.’ We are, believe me. We’re pouring our flesh and blood into this.

“But you know what? I’m not excited. There’s too much to do. I’ll get excited the night the film opens. Then I can just sit there and shout, ‘Yeah!’ at the screen. Until then, I’ll be very serious.”

CAST/CREW Directed John Cardos

Produced Charles Band Paul Gentry Steve Neill Wayne Schmidt

Written J. Larry Carroll Steve Neill Wayne Schmidt David Schmoeller

Jim Davis as Grant Williams Dorothy Malone as Ana Williams Christopher Mitchum as Richard Williams Marcy Lafferty as Beth Williams Scott Kolden as Steve Williams Natasha Ryan as Jenny Williams Roberto Contreras as Gas Station Attendant

Visual Effects by David Allen … dimensional animation / technical advisor: Special Visual Effects Unit Beth Block … opticals: 2nd unit Dave Carson … effects art director: Special Visual Effects Unit Chris Casady … special animation crew Lyle Conway … stop-motion figures designer & creator Randall William Cook … dimensional animation (as Randy Cook) / storyboards (as Randy Cook) Jim Danforth … The “City of Light” by Paul Gentry … dimensional animation (as Paul W. Gentry) / director of special visual effects: Special Visual Effects Unit (as Paul W. Gentry) Gregory Jein … models constructed by (as Greg Jein) Laurel Klick … opticals: 2nd unit (as Laural Klick) Peter Kuran … special animation effects supervisor (as Pete Kuran) James F. Liles … opticals: 3rd unit Laine Liska … models designed by (as Lain Liska) Robin Loudon … effects production secretary Steven Nielson … effects editor (as Steve Neilson) Lori Redfern … special animation crew Wayne Schmidt … opticals: 1st unit Jerome Seven … special animation crew Tom St. Amand … stop-motion armatures (as Tom St. Armand) Rick Taylor … special animation crew Pam Vick … special animation crew Joe Viskocil … special pyrotechnic effects Garry Waller … special animation crew (as Gary Waller) Jim Danforth … matte artist (uncredited) / matte photographer (uncredited)

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Cinefantastique Vol 08 No 2-3 Famous Monsters of Filmland#161

The Day Time Ended (1980) Retrospective SUMMARY A small family relocates to the Sonoran Desert to be closer to the grandparents of the family.

[parkersrevenge]

The Outsiders is Gay(tm), an academic study:

Some of these quotes are 100% serious and meant genuinely, especially in regard to Dally and Johnny. Other quotes are absolutely us being pedantic, entirely because of how much of a hissy fit Hinton threw for the mere suggestion that there is a possible queer reading of this book. So if some of these seem like reaches… they are, and that’s what makes it so much fun.

Chapter 1:

WHEN I STEPPED OUT into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home. (Paul Newman, a bisexual icon.)

I have light-brown, almost-red hair and greenish-gray eyes. I wish they were more gray, because I hate most guys that have green eyes, but I have to be content with what I have. (Ponyboy has a type.)

Darry is six-feet-two, and broad-shouldered and muscular. He has dark-brown hair that kicks out in front and a slight cowlick in the back--- just like Dad's--- but Darry's eyes are his own. He's got eyes that are like two pieces of pale blue-green ice. They've got a determined set to them, like the rest of him. He looks older than twenty--- tough, cool, and smart. He would be real handsome if his eyes weren't so cold.

Soda is handsomer than anyone else I know. Not like Darry--- Soda's movie-star kind of handsome, the kind that people stop on the street to watch go by. He's not as tall as Darry, and he's a little slimmer, but he has a finely drawn, sensitive face that somehow manages to be reckless and thoughtful at the same time.

Soda merely cocked one eyebrow, a trick he'd picked up from Two-Bit.

“I'd just as soon tease a full-grown grizzly” (The biggest and best reach of all.)

They came running toward us now--- four lean, hard guys. (They were hard, guys.)

Steve Randle was seventeen, tall and lean, with thick greasy hair he kept combed in complicated swirls. He was cocky, smart, and Soda's best buddy since grade school.

(The entire description of Dally that lasts three paragraphs.)

If it hadn't been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are.

Dallas lit a cigarette and handed it to Johnny. (Historically a queer symbol, just saying.)

Two-Bit cocked an eyebrow. "Nice-lookin' bruise you got there, kid." I touched my cheek gingerly. "Really?" Two-Bit nodded sagely. "Nice cut, too. Makes you look tough."

I can understand why Sodapop and Steve get into drag races and fights so much, though--- both of them have too much energy, too much feeling, with no way to blow it off. (Heh.)

In a moment his breathing was light and regular. I turned my head to look at him and in the moonlight he looked like some Greek god come to earth. I wondered how he could stand being so handsome. (Why would you even think that?)

Chapter 2

I felt my ears get hot. Two-Bit or Steve or even Soda would have gone right along with him, just to see if they could embarrass the girls, but that kind of kicks just doesn't appeal to me. I sat there, struck dumb, and Johnny left hastily to get a Coke.

I grinned with pride--- I don't think I look one bit like Soda, but it's not every day I hear Socs telling me they think my brother is a doll.

Dallas scowled for a second. If it had been me, or Two-Bit, or Soda or Steve, or anyone but Johnny, Dally would have flattened him without a moment's hesitation. You just didn't tell Dally Winston what to do… But Johnny was the gang's pet, and Dally just couldn't hit him. He was Dally's pet, too.

It had taken more than nerve for him to say what he'd said to Dally--- Johnny worshiped the ground Dallas walked on, and I had never heard Johnny talk back to anyone, much less his hero.

I looked at Two-Bit admiringly. He sure put things into words good.

"Get Johnny some, too. I'm buyin'," he added as Johnny started to reach into his jeans pocket.

I don't like to go on weekends because then there is usually a bunch of girls down there flirting with Soda--- all kinds of girls, Socs too. I don't care too much for girls yet. Soda says I'll grow out of it. He did. (COME ON.)

I quit worrying about everything and thought about how nice it was to sit with a girl without having to listen to her swear or to beat her off with a club. I knew Johnny liked it, too. He didn't talk to girls much. Once, while Dallas was in reform school, Sylvia had started hanging on to Johnny 32 and sweet talking him and Steve got hold of her and told her if she tried any of her tricks with Johnny he'd personally beat the tar out of her. Then he gave Johnny a lecture on girls and how a sneaking little broad like Sylvia would get him into a lot of trouble. As a result, Johnny never spoke to girls much, but whether that was because he was scared of Steve or because he was shy, I couldn't tell. (Harold, he’s gay.)

Chapter 3

Dally--- wild, cunning Dally-

I looked at their clothes and realized for the first time that evening that all I had was a pair of jeans and Soda's old navy sweat shirt with the sleeves cut short. (Fashion.)

Two-Bit took a long drag on his cigarette, Johnny slouched and hooked his thumbs in his pockets, and I stiffened. (Heh, pt. 2.)

I only wanted to lie on my back under a tree and read a book or draw a picture, and not worry about being jumped or carrying a blade or ending up married to some scatterbrained broad with no sense. (He just wants to deal with normal stuff, not weird stuff like gang violence and women!)

"Shoot," I said, startled out of my misery, "you got the whole gang. Dally didn't slug you tonight 'cause you're the pet. I mean, golly, Johnny, you got the whole gang.

Chapter 4

"You could use a bath, greaser. And a good working over. And we've got all night to do it. Give the kid a bath, David."

Bob, the handsome Soc, was lying there in the moonlight, doubled up and still. (He’s dead, Pony. You don’t need to describe his looks right now.)

I knew Buck, and the only way you could get anything from him was to bully him. I guess that's why Dallas could handle him so easily, although Buck was in his mid-twenties and Dally was seventeen.

He appeared in a few minutes, clad only in a pair of low-cut blue jeans, scratching the hair on his chest. (Fashion, pt. 2)

It would be a miracle if Dally loved anything. The fight for self-preservation had hardened him beyond caring. (IMPORTANT)

"Oh, shoot, kid"--- Dally glanced contemptuously over his shoulder--- "I was in the bedroom." He suddenly stared at me. "Glory, but your ears can get red, Ponyboy."

Dally walked us back to the door, turning off the porch light before we stepped out. "Git goin'!" He messed up Johnny's hair. "Take care, kid," he said softly. (He’s in love. Source: Chapter 10.)

I stretched out and used Johnny's legs for a pillow.

"I'm sorry. Why didn't you wake me up?" "That's okay. I didn't want to wake you up until I had to."

"I guess I look okay now, huh, Johnny?" He was studying me. "You know, you look an awful lot like Sodapop, the way you've got your hair and everything. I mean, except your eyes are green." "They ain't green, they're gray," I said, reddening. "And I look about as much like Soda as you do." I got to my feet. "He's good-looking." "Shoot," Johnny said with a grin, "you are, too."

Chapter 5

I pushed off Johnny's jeans jacket, which had somehow got thrown across me…

I propped myself on my elbows and grinned up at him. "Hey, Johnny. Fancy meetin' you here." He looked down at me over a big package. "I swear, Ponyboy, you're gettin' to act more like Two-Bit every day." I tried unsuccessfully to cock an eyebrow. "Who's acting?" ( ಠ◡ಠ )

"A paperback copy of Gone with the Wind! How'd you know I always wanted one?" Johnny reddened. "I remembered you sayin' something about it once. And me and you went to see that movie, 'member? I thought you could maybe read it out loud and help kill time or something."

"Things have been happening so fast..." I put my arm across his shoulders to warm him up

He slumped down beside me. "I didn't mean it like that, Ponyboy. Don't cry, Pony, we'll be okay. Don't cry..." I leaned against him and bawled until I went to sleep.

I woke up late that night. Johnny was resting against the wall and I was asleep on his shoulder.

That was the first time I realized the extent of Johnny's hero-worship for Dally Winston. Of all of us, Dally was the one I liked least. He didn't have Soda's understanding or dash, or Two-Bit's humor, or even Darry's superman qualities. But I realized that these three appealed to me because they were like the heroes in the novels I read. Dally was real. I liked my books and clouds and sunsets. Dally was so real he scared me.

One morning I woke up earlier than usual. Johnny and I slept huddled together for warmth

"You know," Johnny said slowly, "I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept reminding me about them. It seems like they were never there before." (Literally a cliché from every Disney movie ever made.)

Johnny shrugged. "Yeah," he said with a sigh. "I guess we're different." (!!!)

"Hey, Ponyboy!" He grinned down at me. "Or should I say Sleeping Beauty?"

Chapter 6

"Johnny," Dally said in a a pleading, high voice, using a tone I had never heard from him before, "Johnny, I ain't mad at you. I just don't want you to get hurt. You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you. Oh, blast it, Johnny"--- he pushed his white-blond hair back out of his eyes--- "you get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me..."

Chapter 7

Darry and Sodapop were in the pictures too; Jerry Wood told me that if Sodapop and Darry hadn't been so good-looking, they wouldn't have taken so many. That was public appeal, he said. (Everyone has a hard-on for Darry and Soda.)

They slammed the door, of course, and Two-Bit came running into the kitchen. He caught me by the upper arms and swung me around, ignoring the fact that I had two uncooked eggs in my hand.

"Hate to tell you, buddy," Steve said, still flat on the floor, "but you have to wear clothes to work. There's a law or something."

Steve followed him and in a second there was the general racket of a pillow fight. (Why would you follow your naked friend into his bedroom?)

Chapter 8

"Tuff enough," he managed, and by the way his eyes were glowing, I figured Southern gentlemen had nothing on Johnny Cade.

I knew Johnny understood what I meant. We had always been close buddies, and those lonely days in the church strengthened our friendship.

Chapter 9

Darry had on a tight black T-shirt that showed every muscle on his chest and even the flat hard muscles of his stomach. (Fashion, pt. 3.)

"Welup," Two-Bit said cheerfully, cocking an eyebrow, "I see we are in prime condition for a rumble…

“That big guy with y'all, you know him pretty well?"

Then Paul said, "I'll take you," and something like a smile crossed Darry's face. I knew Darry had thought he could take Paul any time. (I bet he could…)

Steve lay doubled up and groaning about ten feet from me. We found out later he had three broken ribs. Sodapop was beside him, talking in a low steady voice.

Several people yelled at us, I think because we were pretty racked-up looking, but Dally had nothing on his mind except Johnny…

Johnny's eyes glowed. Dally was proud of him. That was all Johnny had ever wanted.

Dally swallowed and reached over to push Johnny's hair back. "Never could keep that hair back... that's what you get for tryin' to help people, you little punk, that's what you get..."

"Damnit, Johnny..." he begged, slamming one fist against the wall, hammering it to make it obey his will. "Oh, damnit, Johnny, don't die, please don't die..." He suddenly bolted through the door and down the hall.

Chapter 10

How can I take it? I wondered. Dally is tougher than I am. Why can I take it when Dally can't? And then I knew. Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone.

Steve stumbled forward with a sob, but Soda caught him by the shoulders. "Easy, buddy, easy," I heard him say softly, "there's nothing we can do now."

Chapter 11

Yeah, he was good-looking even then, with a grin that reminded me of Soda's, a kind of reckless grin. He had been a handsome black-haired boy with dark eyes--- maybe brown, like Soda's, maybe darkblue, like the Shepard boys'. Maybe he'd had black eyes. Like Johnny. I had never given Bob much thought--- I hadn't had time to think. But that day I wondered about him.

I knew he liked to pick fights, had the usual Soc belief that living on the West Side made you Mr. Super-Tuff, looked good in dark wine-colored sweaters, and was proud of his rings.

Chapter 12

You know a guy a long time, and I mean really know him, you don't get used to the idea that he's dead just overnight. Johnny was something more than a buddy to all of us.

It was too vast a problem to be just a personal thing. There should be some help, someone should tell them before it was too late. Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn't be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore. It was important to me.

[iamandco]

  2011 “MELANCHOLIA” MAGNOLIA PICTURES  In recent years, speaking about mental health has become more common than in the past . Removing the stigma behind talking about these issues is prevalent in our society and no longer is the phrase “they’re just sad” taken so lightly.  Experiencing depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issues cannot be easily explained. Causes can be a result of trauma, abuse, grief, or even family traits, but can also arise from various other factors.  The most outworldly positive people can also fall into a state of constructing negative thoughts about their lives and the world. Sometimes doing your best still isn’t enough and this can be a spiraling effect. Everyone has a story to tell and no one is the same .  Below I have listed 10 movies that provide different stories focused on depression. All except “Prozac Nation” depict fictional stories.    PHOTO: COURTESY MIRAMAX FILMS  “Prozac Nation”  With a 2001 Canadian release date and a 2005 U.S. release date, “Prozac Nation” is a film based on the autobiography of journalist Eliazbeth Wurtzel, who at a young age began suffering with atypical depression and controlled her mental health through prescribed drug, Prozac.  The film stars Christina Ricci as Elizabeth “Lizzie” Wurtzel and Jessica Lange as her mother.  Lizzie is a 19 year old journalism student at Harvard University. She comes from a broken home and hasn’t spoken to her father in four years. Her mother is neurotic and extremely hypercritical. Her relationship with her parents has complicated her mental health and her relationship with men. Lizzie begins drinking, pulling all nighters to write, and alienating those around her. Her emotional stability begins to drop and she begins getting psychiatric help which leads to her receiving a prescription for Prozac.  The prescription drug helps Lizzie with her depression and suicidal thoughts, but she begins to wonder what life would be without them.  You can buy or rent “Prozac Nation” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY Eric Lee/Fox Searchlight Pictures  “Little Miss Sunshine” “Little Miss Sunshine” is as dysfunctional as can be. Rated R and released in 2006, the movie showcases the Hoover family as they road trip from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Redondo Beach, California for a “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant.  With little to no money, the family decides to roadtrip to their destination in their old yellow Volkswagen, which has more car issues than expected along the way.  The family of six is portrayed by Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin. Each character, despite the youngest, has their own mental health issues, which adds to the dysfunctionality of the family.  Sheryl, the mother, is overworked. Her husband, Richard, is a Type A personality attempting to become a life coach. Her gay brother, Frank, has recently moved in with the family after a failed suicide attempt. Her son, Dwayne, has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a pilot. Richard’s father, Edwin, now lives with the family as well after being evicted from his retirement home after having been caught snorting heroin. The youngest of the family, Olive, dreams of becoming a beauty pageant queen and is coached by her grandfather Edwin. They must all come together to get the youngest Hoover, Olive, to her beauty pageant on time to compete for the title of “Little Miss Sunshine.”  Along the way, they all must learn to deal with each other in a healthy way or fall apart while doing so. You can buy or rent “Little Miss Sunshine” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY  “A Single Man” Starring Colin Firth as George Falconer, “A Single Man” tells the story of a British English professor living in 1960s Los Angeles and dealing with his partner’s, Jim, death. Unable to cope with life, George decides it's time for the end. He goes about his day, getting his affairs in order, and preparing to commit suicide later in the evening. He ends up spending his day with people who can see just how sad he truly is, including a male prostitute, one of his male students, and an old female friend named Charley, portrayed by Julianne Moore.  George is able to come to terms with his grief regarding losing Jim, but unfortunate events lead to an unlikely ending.  “A Single Man” was the directorial debut for fashion designer, Tom Ford, received positive reviews and holds an 85 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  You can stream, buy, or rent “A Single Man” on Showtime , iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY Brigade Marketing  “Veronika Decides to Die” Released in 2009, and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, “Veronika Decides to Die” follows the story of Veronika, a 20 something with a successful life full of materialistic things.  Despite all her success, Veronika suffers from depression and finds no meaning to her life. She decides to overdose on pills as a suicide attempt.  To her surprise, Veronika wakes up in a mental health institution, having survived the overdose. However, her attempt at suicide has deteriorated her health and is at risk of an aneurysm, which could end her life at any moment.  During her stay at the hospital, she becomes close to another patient, Edward, who suffers from schizophrenia.  As her relationship with Edward deepens, Veronika begins to find new meaning to her life and a newfound will to live.  You can buy or rent “Veronika Decides to Die” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY FOCUS FEATURES  “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”  Released in 2010 and starring Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zack Galifianakis, and Viola Davis, “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” follow 16 year old Craig Gilner during his one week stay in a hospital psychiatric ward.  Stressed because of school, his father’s expectations, and his overall adolescence, Craig finds himself ready to jump off the Brookyln Bridge and commit suicide. Instead of jumping, he willingly checks himself into a mental health clinic, at first unaware that he must permanently be admitted for a week long stay.  Because the youth wing is undergoing renovations, he is placed on the adult floor, with patients of all ages. While dealing with his depression in the hospital, Craig meets and befriends two individuals. One, Bobby, a middle aged man with suicidal tendencies, and Noelle, a teenage girl also dealing with her own personal demons.  You can buy or rent “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” on iTunes , Amazon Prime or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT  “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”  Released in 2012 and described as a coming of age film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” was named one of the best films in the year by MTV, Us Weekly, and Complex magazine.  The film stars Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller.  Logan Lerman portrays Charlie, a teenager about to start his freshman year of high school in 1992. What his peers don’t know about Charlie is that he spent his summer in a mental health care institution and that the year prior, Charlie’s bestfriend commited suicide.  From a young age, Charlie himself has dealt with clinical depression and anxiety, for reasons unknown until the end of the film.  Charlie is shy and finds it difficult to make friends, other than his English teacher, who immediately sees Charlie’s love for literature.  During a football game, Charlie meets two seniors, Sam and Patrick, who happen to be step siblings. Charlie is immediately accepted into Sam and Patrick’s friend group.  When tensions between Charlie and his friends arise, he finds himself alone and falling back into a depressive state. After regaining his friendship with the group, Charlie’s mental health continues to worsen but he does his best to hide it.  When the school year ends and his friends go off to college, Charlie is once again left all alone. His emotional state plummets and he breaks. Haunted by repressed childhood memories, Charlie experiences a panic attack that sends him back to the hospital.  You can buy or rent “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY AP  “The Skeleton Twins” Starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, “The Skeleton Twins” follows Milo and Maggie as they try and figure out where their lives went wrong.  The movie starts with their individual stories, Milo leaving a suicide note and cutting his wrists in Los Angeles. Across the country, in New York, Maggie is about to swallow a handful of pills when she receives a call, alerting her of her brother’s failed suicide attempt.  Maggie travels to Los Angeles to visit Milo in the hospital and invites him to indefinitely live with her in New York. Their interaction at the hospital is their first in ten years, having lost communication years prior.  In New York, Milo meets his sister’s loving husband, Lance. Throughout the movie it is shown that Maggie’s seemingly perfect marriage to Lance is one sided. While he is the perfect husband, she doesn't feel worthy of him and cheats as well as takes birth control pills to prevent them from having children, which he dearly wants.  Meanwhile, Milo attempts to rekindle a relationship with Rich, his high school Engish teacher, with whom he had a sexual relationship at age 15.  Maggie and Milo’s newfound relationship with each other eventually reaches a tipping point. The two must come to terms with their destructive life choices which until now, they have been using as methods of coping with their depression.  You can buy or rent “The Skeleton Twins” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY AP  “Cake”  Showcasing Jennifer Aniston in a dramatic role, “Cake” follows Claire Bennet years after surviving a car accident that killed her son and sent her into a depressive state. The death of her son complicated her marriage and years later, her husband has finally left her.  Claire now suffers from chronic pain due to the accident and attends a support group as well as takes physical therapy classes. She takes many medications and even travels to Tijuana, Mexico to purchase additional pain medications. Claire has become an angry person and really has no close personal relationships, other than her housekeeper, Silvana, who has stuck by her side through it all.  When a member of her support group, Nina, commits suicide, Claire befriends her widowed husband, who is angry at his deceased wife for leaving him and their five year old son. Throughout the movie, Claire experiences hallucinations of Nina.  Events lead to Claire overdosing on pain pills. After her hospital stay, another hallucinated conversation with Nina makes Claire come to the realization that despite everything, she was a good mother to her son.  You can buy or rent “Cake” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY MAGNOLIA PICTURES  “Melancholia” The New York Times described “Melancholia” as a film that portrays the “acute anguish and the paralyzing hollowness of depression.”  The film was released in 2011 and is the second movie of director Lars von Trier’s unofficially titled “Depression Trilogy.” Inspiration for the film came from one of his depressive episodes in life.  The movie is told in two parts, following the stories of two sisters, portrayed by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg. The events of the film are surrounded by an impending disaster, the destruction of Earth by a collision with the planet, Melancholia.  The film opens with Justine, portrayed by Dunst, who is experiencing the happiest day of her life, her wedding day. However, Justine is anything but happy. She finds everything in life pointless and is therefore incredibly impulsive. Her sister, who paid for the wedding, is struggling to deal with the fact they are all about to die.  The movie as a whole, and the fake planet about to destroy Earth, serve as a metaphor for how destructive depression can be.  You can buy or rent “Melancholia” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY OPEN ROAD FILMS  “Side Effects”  Different from the other movies described, “Side Effects” tells the story of a woman who faked her mental health issues. For fans of movies like “Gone Girl” and “The Girl on the Train” I definitely recommended giving “Side Effects” a watch for a story like no other! Released in 2013, the movie stars Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  The film follows Emily Taylor, who after her husband is arrested falls into a depressive state, attempts suicide, and begins to find help from a psychiatrist. When her husband is released after four years, she hopes her life will go back to normal. But when it doesn't, she falls into a deeper state of depression. Her psychiatrist, Jonathon Banks, decides to prescribe her an experimental drug after all other prescriptions fail to help. However, the side effects of the new drug ruin Emily’s life and Jonathon’s reputation and career.  You can buy or rent “Side Effects” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu . *** Mental health is no joke and should be taken seriously. I encourage you to reach out to your friends and let them know that in any case, you are there to provide support and help.  It is important to note that World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10th every year and if you need to talk to someone or want to refer a friend, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and is available 24 hours a day. 

[newagesispage]

                                                                        OCTOBER 2017

 *****The beautiful dino, Sue will be moved to her own gallery in Chicago’s field museum. New to her long fixed spot will be a cast of patagotitan mayorum, the biggest dinosaur ever found.

*****Richard Thomas is selling his NY midtown coop for $2,995,000 and is located at 7th Ave. and w. 58th.

*****California is waiting for Jerry Brown to sign a bill that bans puppy mills.

*****WWF has released wild tigers back into Kazakhstan. Scimitar horned oryx were released into the Sahara desert and indigo snakes were reintroduced into Florida.

*****Toys “R” Us has filed for bankruptcy.

*****Tom Price, health and human services secretary, has resigned after hic charter flight scandal.

*****After 50 years Rolling Stone may be up for sale.

*****Doc Martin is back on Acorn for series 8.

*****As social media has been telling us, we don’t need a border wall. Tourism is down about $37 billion. Thanks Trump!

*****Trump supporters don’t seem to like him fraternizing with the Dems and waffling on DACA. They have been burning their red hats but scary clown already got the money for selling them so what does he care. Anne Coulter wonders if there is anybody left who does not want Trump impeached.** Some states are suing over DACA.

*****”Holes separate men and women.”- Billy Connolly

*****The dreamer program has been signed away. The Deferred Action for Children’s Arrival has been handed to congress for 6 months to deal with. The administration says it violates the rule of law.

*****The Peoria Blues and Heritage fest went off without a hitch. The weather was perfect and we should all be looking at the Jamiah Rogers band, these guys are fucking awesome. John Butler checked them out before his own set and was great with his fans.

*****Bill Withers has his first solo record since 1985 with a cover of (You’ve been quite a doll) Raggedy Ann.

*****In this country, a woman dies every 2 hours of cervical cancer because of improper health care.

*****Can I just say that I do not want to see reporters in the middle of hurricanes. Can they just stay safe in a room and fix a camera outside? I would much rather see different angles of the storm and see no people out there.  It was often impossible to hear then anyway.  The communication between the studio and location was fucked up and did not help anyway. It also seemed like they showed an awful lot of Shell stations. JS

*****An estimated 70 million Americans saw the fake Russian ads during the campaign.  No impact??

*****The Stones are on their No Filter tour in Europe and they brought out ‘Dancin with Mr. D’ which hasn’t been played live since 1973.

*****Trumps lawyers seem to want Jared out.

*****Steve Bannon’s Great Great Grandfather was an immigrant from Ireland who needed no papers to get in this country.

*****Montgomery , Alabama is going to open a Museum of lynching.  There is a wall lined with jars of dirt that were collected from sites of lynching’s from around the country.  Very powerful.

*****Thanks Trump administration for removing references to ‘LGBTQ’ youth from a federal program for victims of sex trafficking. It also eliminates funding to international groups that provide abortions. This comes from mostly evangelical lobbyists who are reporting that they are having more discussions  with this administration than they ever had with any President.

*****Vanity Fair has their best dressed list out which includes Harry Styles, Rihanna, Solange, Jack Schlossberg, Justin Trudeau, Janelle Monae, Dev Patel, Cate Blanchett, Zoe Kravitz, Ruth Negga, and Donald Glover. The hall of fame mentioned Lauren Hutton, Jeremy irons and Prince Phillip.

*****More police brutality against the black man with the subduing of the Seahawks Michael Bennett for no apparent reason.

*****Leslie Van Houten has again been granted parole. As last year she is waiting out the 120 days to get the word from Gov. Jerry Brown.

*****Lovin’ Greg Garcia’s The Guest book on TBS. What is not to love about seeing Charles Robinson and Carly Jibson again.  It made my day to see guest Orson Bean!!

*****The U.S. office of government ethics has changed a policy that will now allow lobbyists to donate to staffers legal defense funds.

*****Cameras have taken the first pictures of white giraffes in Kenya.

*****The Simpsons will be going to New Orleans this season!

*****The Middle is starting its last season. We will miss U!

*****Jay Pharoah has a new show on Showtime. White Famous is loosely based on the life of Jamie Foxx who is the executive producer.

*****John Davis Washington, son of Denzel may head the cast of Black Klansman. Spike Lee will direct and Jordan Peele will produce the true story of an African American who in 1978 infiltrated the KKK. Ron Stallworth used phones and his own writing to communicate with the organization. When he had to appear in person he sent a white officer in his place. They were able to sometimes sabotage cross burnings and other activities.

*****IT just had the biggest horror movie opening ever. The acting is quite nice for chapter 1 but the ending a bit long.

*****Netflix is bringing a delicious doc : Jim and Andy  The great beyond featuring a very special contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton. Spike Jonze is producing with the hundred  hours of footage from Man on the Moon. ** Other new docs on the way look at Eric Clapton, Grace Jones and Sammy Davis Jr. It is the first time that Kim Novak will talk on camera about dating Sammy.

*****September 16 brought the Juggalos march on Washington. They have been bringing awareness about their gang designation and the harm that it has caused. The running man with a hatchet is considered a gang symbol and gives cops probable cause to search. The FBI labeled Juggalos a hybrid gang in 2011. Also marching were some of the alt right calling their march the mother of all rallies but it only produced about 500 people.

*****Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin requested use of a government jet for his honeymoon and he later withdrew that request.

*****Finally there was a confirmation from a charity that Trump claims to have given to after the Hurricanes. Direct relief received 25 thou. ** There have still been no charities that received money from the inauguration fund.

*****WGN is bringing us a new show called Bellevue.

*****Howard Buffett will be the new Sheriff of Macon county in Illinois. His father Warren had donated millions to the area.

*****Prophets of Rage are here to raise awareness with members of Cypress Hill, Rage against the Machine and Public Enemy.

*****LA summer Olympics in 2028?!

*****Sean Spicer landed on Jimmy Kimmel. Wow.. What a kiss ass whiny bitch. He tried hard to stay in Trumps good graces with compliments for the Pres and constant berating of the press. He reminded me of a ventriloquist dummy with a hand up his ass.** His cameo at the Emmy’s did not go over very well either.

***** Model Monroe Bergdorf was fired by L’oreal because of her anti- racist remarks.  She has now been hired by Illamasqua.

*****Boycott Dragon Dumps! Don’t pay your bill on time and the owner dumps garbage on your lawn.

*****It looks like Trevor Noah will stay with the Daily show until at least 2022.

*****James Woods used his twitter account to try and shame a movie about a gay romance between a 17 year old and a 24 year old. Amber Tamblyn tweeted that Woods had hit on her for real when she was only 16.

*****Scientists are trying to bring back the chelonoidis elephantopus Galopagos turtles. 80 blood samples of modern day island turtles have genetic traces of the lost species. Even though they have been extinct for 160 years, scientists think they can reproduce though not to 100%. Could they reverse the negative effects that humans cause in the environment?

***** Why do bullies feel the need to use the art of artists who want nothing to do with them? It is like using ‘You can’t always get what you want’ for Trump when there are plenty of artists who agree with you that would love for you to use their art. Now Universal music and American recordings had to send a cease and desist letter to the white supremacist site Stormfront to stop using Johnny Cash’s version of ‘I won’t back down.’ The host blames the Jews.

*****Tru tv will bring us At home with Amy Sedaris.

*****North Dakota paleontologists have been uncovering so many bones that they are inviting the public to help.  It sounds like a dream come true.

*****Paul Newman is Jake Gyllenhaal’s Godfather. JS

*****St. Louis exploded into protest with yet another acquittal of a police officer after the shooting of a black man, Anthony Lamar Smith. Peoria, Il is also dealing with the shooting of an alleged bank robber who was shot 18 times.

*****The NFL is standing together in solidarity for equality and scary clown is sniping at them like a bitch. Our leader would not know respect and maturity if it bit him in the ass.** The Packers asked their fans to stand arm in arm with them on their Thursday night game with the Bears. Respect to Aaron Rodgers and the guys for speaking out before the game on equality. Some ‘fans’ are burning their Packer stuff. ..  Why do these Trump supporters always want to burn everything? Do they have any idea how racist and ridiculous that looks?

*****Veep is going to bring us their last season while Julia is battling breast cancer. Joe Biden tweeted that us Veeps must stick together to show his support.

*****The Emmy’s with Stephen Colbert have come and gone. My best dressed were Ellie Kemper, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, Leslie Jones, Matthew Rhys, Claire Foy, Evan Rachel Wood ,Gabrielle Union, Donald Glover, Emmy Rossum, Zoe Kravitz, Nicole Kidman and Julia- Louis Dreyfus. My worst dressed were Uzo Aduba, Debra Messing, Anna Farris, Tracee Ellis Ross and Prianka Chopra. I love Sarah Paulson and the back of her dress was great but …?? There was so much black fabric which was awesome. Was it mourning for the earthquake and hurricane victims or just a general sadness for the country?  Whatever the reason.. hooray black!!**Also happy that hairstyles were mostly long and loose.** I was happy to see Laura Dern win for supporting actress in a limited series or movie. ** The Handmaids tale won for show, directing and writing , for Anne Dowd who looked more shocked and appreciative than I have ever seen and Elisabeth Moss. ** I was happy for Alec Baldwin for best supporting actor but was really routing for Louie Anderson. ** When the noms came out, I could not imagine anything beating out FEUD but everything did. ** The girls from 9 to 5 stole the show with their mention of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot. ** Donald Glover won for directing and acting. **Alexander Skarsgard won which gave he and his brother quite a week. ** John Oliver won two and he again flew in his whole staff. ** Julia- Louis Dreyfus has now won the most Emmys for the same character in the same show. Veep got best comedy.**It was a wonderful moment when Carol Burnett and Norman Lear came out but DeNiro looked so disinterested.** Cicely Tyson has often been described as a bit of a diva and seemed a bit out of it on the broadcast but her counterpart saved the day.** So sad that Bob Odenkirk did not win but kudos to sterling K. Brown. They seemed to play him off too quickly while Nicole Kidman and big little lies had all the time in the world.

*****Bobby Moynihan stars in the new  ‘Me Myself and I’ on CBS.

*****Word is that the Trump campaign is asking supporters to contribute money to build the wall.

*****Can we pay a little more attention to Puerto Rico? Why is the Pres giving them grief? Things were tough enough before the devastation. Puerto Rico has no bankruptcy and running a business is so costly there. Companies there must buy American which we don’t have to do.  Forty percent of residents don’t have insurance. So many of the supplies sent to help are just sitting there in San Juan.

*****Angela Merkel has won a 4th term as German chancellor.

*****Singapore got their first female President, Halimah Yacob. She was the only candidate.

*****There was a settlement in a lawsuit against Club Cabaret. Dancers sued to be employees instead of individual contractors. The dancers won a million and cost of legal fees.

*****Art Garfunkel has a memoir/diary/ book of musings out called ‘What is it all but luminous.’

*****The personal account of Ted Cruz hit ‘like’ on a porn site on 9/11. He calls it a mistake by a staffer. A college roommate of Cruz said that he was not surprised.

*****After a tweet from the Pres about hitting Hil with a golf ball, Stephen King tweeted: Thinks hitting a woman with a golf ball and knocking her down is funny. Myself, I think it indicates a severely fucked up mind.

*****Brooklyn 99 is back and funnier than ever with the same great cast and opening.

*****Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are rated number 1 of tv personalities based on Facebook, Instagram, twitter et al.

*****R.I.P Richard Anderson, Walter Becker, Don Williams, David Tang, Troy Gentry, Murray Lerner, Mexico’s earthquake victims, those lost to hurricane Irma, Frank Vincent, Len Wein, Grant Hart, Harry Dean Stanton, Michelle Rounds, Bonnie Angelo, Hugh Hefner, Jake La Motta, Eddie Russell Jr., Edith Windsor, Tony Booth and Monty Hall.

ȅ

[rndyounghowze]

Titanic by Broadway Theatre of Pitman in Pitman New Jersey

Titanic, 1997’s Tony Award winner for best musical that features music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and book and lyrics by Peter Stone calls Broadway Theatre of Pitman its port of call until the 30th. Off we go on a journey throughout the fated ship from the lower decks where the Irish third class resides to the upper decks where the upper class rub elbows in luxury. Director John Stephan takes us back to the fateful voyage of 1912 in a truly touching performance.

Pictured: The Cast of "Titanic the Musical" performing "Finale".

Photo Courtesy of: John Stephan

This musical tells the story of all the reasons that passengers boarded the Titanic for her doomed maiden voyage. Some like Bruce Ismay, Thomas Andrews, and Captain Smith (Dave Gold, Steve McMahon, and Paul Weagraff) boarded for hubris as the men who could say they owned, built, and mastered her. Some like stoker Frederick Barrett and radioman Harold Bride (Andy Boettcher and DJ Hedgepath) came because working on this ship was to become their bread and butter.

Several more individuals and families boarded this ship to continue a life of luxury in first class, catch a glimpse of a life they never had in second class, or find a new life in America in third class. First class passengers were captains of industry whose names we may still know today such as the Astors (played by Jim Ludovici and Kate Hughes), Strauss (played by Nick Saverine and Margaret Hill) and Guggenheim (Michael Schmidt). Second class passengers were couples like Edgar and Alice Beane (played by Tad Levine and Kristin Titus) who wanted to see a glimpse and a luxurious life that they could never hope to get. In third class you had three “Kates” (played by Jenna Kuerzi, Mia Massaro, and Katie Hughes) and Jim Farrell who have been longing for a better life with jobs in America.

Each passenger came on board for a different reason and at a different station but soon found themselves in the same situation as the iceberg struck. The mammoth block of ice formed by the elements soon became the great equalizer. This musical also endeavors to show you what's left after the carnage is over.

The cast that made up the passenger manifest of this wonderful show were some of the most professional and talented actors I have ever met. I was awed by their skill and range as many of them took on two or more roles. If I was writing a novel and not a review I would love to stop and tell you about all these wonderful actors. I will, however, only talk about some of the ones that caught my eye the most. You'll have to come out to see the rest and pick out your favorites.

Steve McMahon as Andrews didn't stand out to me at first until I heard him sing. He has a set of pipes that shook the rafters. You'll hear him best in songs like “Blame” and “Andrew’s Vision”. He plays that calculating kind of man that is still running numbers and figures in his head even until the last. I found his acting effective but his singing was truly powerful.

Dave Gold as Ismay had the hard job of taking a proud and manipulative man and turning him into a human being I could relate to. His presence took up the stage almost as well as his character’s ego.

Andy Boettcher as Barrett took us through a journey as a man that seems as hard and dark as the coal he shovels but also has a soft heart and a love for a girl back home. You can hear him best in the song “Proposal” where you can hear that soft side come out.

DJ Hedgepath as Harold Bride gave us a man who keeps his ear to the ground and head in the radio waves but also has kind soul. What I loved most about Hedgepath’s performance was that when he changed roles to play Mr. Thayer I never really noticed it was him. I think one of the best compliments you could give an actor was that you never noticed when they switched characters because their skill was that good.

Kristin Titus as Alice Beane gave us a woman desperate for the finer things in life and always ready to graze on the latest gossip. She was almost the unofficial glue that held the story together and I think she rose to the occasion splendidly.

Mia Massaro as Kate McGowan showed us a woman who knows what she wants. Her singing was amazing in “Lady’s Maid” and you can feel a sense of raw human energy behind her performance. She's definitely one of the characters I connected to the most.

Direction and choreography by John Stephan was masterful weaving singing and dancing and drama in a seamless work of art. It's very rare to see a show like this where all the moving pieces and sheer weight of humanity onstage don't cause some longer runtimes due to scene changes and people getting on and off stage. Not in this show. I love it when directors don't go for flash but focus on the gripping human elements of a show and this is exactly what he did.

My favorite moments were the great company scenes where passengers were flitting about and chaos ensued. You see this in the grand energy of “The Launching” in the first act where all the passengers are boarding and you can just feel the excitement. You also see this in numbers like “The Hymn” and “Doing the Latest Rag” where I could feel an energy coming off the cast. I felt that these people were families and people with hopes and dreams.

I also felt that the scenes at the lifeboats were very gripping as wives, children, and husbands were ripped apart. The chaos being a mirror image to the grandeur in the first act left me with tears in my eyes.

Some scenes had elements that didn't work as well. In “What a Remarkable Age This Is!” I perceived just a slight drop in energy and was a bit perplexed at the decision to place some actors at the table facing away from the audience where their lines were somewhat lost.

I also would say that I loved the heightened and frantic energy at the end of Act one so much that I didn't need the foam rubber chunks of “ice” at the end. I totally felt the energy and could feel everything coming to a crashing halt on it's own through superb acting and haunting music. The prop ice, having no weight to it, pulled me out of the moment. If they were to ever do this show again I’d hope that they know that their talent was far more powerful than any fake iceberg they can make.

I also saw a drop in energy in “The Staircase” and “The Blame”. However I'm sure this can be blamed on a Sunday matinee doldrums and not the cast. The minute the pace picked up for the rest of the act I saw no more problems.

Stephan is one of those directors that can take an extraordinary cast, talented musicians, and a skilled crew and use them to their best abilities. I'm never disappointed and sure wasn't by this show.

Music direction by Jack Hill used an eleven piece orchestra as a time machine to put us back in the days before the roaring twenties when the 1800’s were just a vivid memory and the rest of the century was a gleam in people's eyes. Through musical numbers throughout “The Launching” I could feel the sea come alive. By the end of Act one I felt the pace quicken and a musical “crash” more powerful than an iceberg.

But the music could also get sweet and mellow like in “The Proposal” and “The Night was Alive” and “Lady’s Maid” where you could hear hopes and dreams in melodic form.

Also kudos to the orchestra for playing even through a thick layer of stage fog. Even in a musical about the Titanic you can say “the band played on”.

Set design by John D. Smitherman was minimal but powerful. With just a platform, stairs, and a cockpit he was able to convey the grandeur of the ship. Even better in Act Two he was able to find a way for the entire platform to tip slightly to give us the feeling of chaos as the ship sank. It was just the right touch that was needed to give us the sense of danger.

Costume design by Beth Hillebrecht also took us back in time with period accurate costumes. My favorites were the uniforms of the crew and the tattered clothes of the third class passengers. The attention to detail brought us into the world very well.

Kudos to lighting designer Shawn McGovern who not only gave us a “wet look” through lighting patterns and colors but used spotlights to drive focus where it was needed.

Kudos to sound design by Chris Schenk that was done so well you almost didn't notice it. Sound is such an important part of a show and it is usually only mentioned when technical difficulties arise. I wanted to mention it here because even though there was some mic level issues I never heard a design that was more seamless in execution. If this is how they are when there are mic problems I know that he must be a Rembrandt of sound with everything going well.

I do wish, however, that there was some element or hint of water in the set design, props ,or costumes that was incorporated more just to give us a sense of the sea around us. I didn't need the entire set to be lowered into a tank of water or actors to be literally swimming but wet clothes or buckets of water being baled or something could have helped tie in the whole elements that the music and the lighting design were trying to convey.

The Titanic has a larger place in history than it ever did on the sea. That is because the stories of it's passengers, dreams planned, fortune and family lost, and works of man foundered create a legacy far more mammoth than the iceberg that sank the “world’s fastest moving object”. It's that legacy that still draws us into the theater to hear the story. Please if you have a chance run to the Broadway Theatre of Pitman before this show sails away again.

 Titanic opened on July 7 and runs through July 30 at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman. You can buy tickets online.

[gloves94]

La Vie En Rose [Bruce Banner] 3

We walked through the parting doors as we entered the bridge of the ship. A blur of activity and energy met my senses. As dozens of agents sat in front of their view screen wholly focused.

 I was met with many moods, but no one was in panic.

 Everyone wholly devoted to his or her individual task. The Black Widow lead the way, her red hair bobbing as she strutted the halls of the helicarrier. Ever so often she would turn and look back at Steve and Bruce who were gawking. Both of them were looking up and down around every corner of the room. I kept my eyes focused front on her. She led us to a long table. Steve stood in the front of it looking at everyone work. Bruce behind it observing everything that was happening. I opted for shrinking into a corner of the room, which was something that went against my attention-seeking nature.

A black, tall man suddenly approached us. He had an air of order that just seemed to follow him as well as the respect his team members had for him. He wore an eye patch on one of his eyes. His glare steady.

    His mood: focused.

 "Lady and gentlemen," he greeted curtly.

Steve handed him a $10, I assumed it must've been an inside bet or something amongst those lines. The man walked towards Banner and extended his hand. Bruce eyed it and reluctantly shook it.

"Nick Fury. Thank you so much for coming doctor," he briefly paused and eyed me from where he stood. "Ms. St. Paul," he said. I simply narrowed my eyes. Hands crossed over my dynamite chest.

    "Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh... how long am I staying?" Bruce asked.

Because I was stuck here with whatever was inside of Bruce I put together that I would be free to go when he was.

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear," Nick Fury explained.

I made a mental note.

 Find Tesseract. From what Romanoff had been saying it sounded like it was an artifact, but it looked like some kind of gem. Regardless I'm sure it was precious. From the conversation they had, I picked up that they had been looking for it everywhere and hadn't had much luck in finding it. Even one of their Agents had been compromised. I looked at Natasha staring intently at the compromised agent’s picture.  

She was getting emotional over it. Was he a dear comrade perhaps?

    "-Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places," Banner explained as he removed his brown jacket and rolled up his purple sleeves ready to work.

 What the hell did he just say? Did it matter? I had to find that stupid cube. In my head the only equation that matter was the following:

 Tesseract + Banner = Free St. Paul.

 And that was all.

"I could find it," I suddenly piped. An idea light bulb going off in my head.

All eyes turned to look at me intensely. I remained stoic.

 "You?" The Captain retorted confused.

"That missing Agent... Bring me something of his, and I'll see what I can do," I explained in simple terms.

"Why would you out of all people help us?" Natasha turned to glare at me.

I scoffed. "Help you? I'm not helping you. The faster we find that "Tessa-rackt" or whatever it is, the faster I get to get out of here and continue on with my fabulous life," I said before tossing my long hair over my shoulder pompously.

Once again.  

Her mood: irritated.  

Then again, what was new? Natasha really didn't like me.

"Somewhere for me to work?" Bruce said slowly after a moment.

Nick Fury remained pensive. If anyone in the room knew what I was capable of, it was him. He licked his lips before speaking.

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please." Natasha nodded and began walking off leading Bruce down the hall. "And also-"

 She stopped.

 "Find Ms. St. Paul something of Agent Barton’s."

I nodded at him thankfully and followed the rest of the group to the lab.

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys," she said breaking the awkward silence that followed the three of us.

The lab, just like the rest of the spaceship, was huge. It was filled with pristine technology; everything was clean and massive in the laboratory. I looked around suspiciously wondering if there were any cameras nearby. Bruce looked like a child on Christmas Eve. His excitement was almost contagious.

"Here," Natasha said suddenly pulling something out of her back pocket.

She placed it in my hand. It was a sharp arrowhead. I was correct in my assumption that this agent had a close relationship with Romanoff. The corner of my lips twitched up into a smirk, eyes flashing gold.

"Don't get cocky now," they returned to their standard color.

"How special is this arrowhead to Agent Barton?" I asked.

"Somewhat," was all she responded.

 I grumbled ignoring her lack of cooperation. If she carried it with her, it must’ve meant something to him. Taking a deep breath, I fingered the arrowhead in my hand and wrapped my fingers around it tightly.  

Exhaling, I closed my eyes.

   Xxx

 Merrill collapsed.

"Dr. Banner!" Natasha exclaimed as she reached for the other woman unable to catch her before she hit the ground. Bruce turned and saw the redhead hovering over the other woman who was laying on the cold floor. He instantly dropped what he was doing and rushed over to where the two women were.

"What happened?" He asked immediately kneeling. He touched the woman's face. It was warm. Another hand in the vein of her arm. Her pulse was steady.

"I handed her the arrowhead and she just collapsed. I'll get Fury!" Natasha quickly jogged out of the room.

Bruce was left alone with the unconscious woman. He reached for his jacket and bundled it up placing it under her head, which he analyzed for any severe wounds. Thankfully there were none. He then opened her eyes, with the flashlight on his phone he moved the light around.

However, her pupils remained still neither growing or shrinking. Her eyes were in their neutral gray, white color. It appeared as if she was almost in some sort of trance.

He didn't know anything about her other than her name. From what he had picked up she was a vain, materialistic, pompous woman. Not the type of person he would usually associate himself with. Especially the kind of woman, then again, he was only a lab rat.

He analyzed her face and couldn't help but wonder just how the hell she was supposed to keep The Big Guy in order.

I opened my eyes. It appeared that I was in an underground laboratory. Just like SHIELD's, everything was brand new and extremely high tech. The lab was filled with working scientist all with bright, glowing, blue eyes.

Their movements were calculated, no emotion in them what so ever.

Were they under some kind of mind control?

I looked down at the hands of the body, which I had currently possessed. They belonged to a man. I realized that I was holding a high tech tablet. The tablet read information on IRIDIUM.

 Whatever that was.

 Next to it was information on Dr. Heinrich Schafer.

"Where did you find all these people?"

It took me a moment to realize that an elderly scientist was actually addressing the body I was hosting. He had peppered grey hair a pink complexion and wore an aqua plaid shirt. His eyes held the same unfamiliar glow that the rest of the crew had. He was standing inside of a protected area working on a machine.

"Does it matter?" I retorted the first answer that came to mind. I looked back at the tablet and attempted to memorize most of the information that I could.

"Do you have what I need?" The scientist asked again.

Unsure of how to proceed I turned the tablet towards him. Did he mean this?

"Iridium. It's found in meteorites; it forms anti-protons. It's very hard to get hold of," he explained as he toyed with some construction materials and a red screwdriver. Nearby, I noticed that several scientists were speaking German.

I closed the perimeter of where I could be. German-speaking people. Central Europe, perhaps Austria or Germany. Suddenly I felt a looming presence enter the room. I froze, this being had emotions. There was the intense burning of anger, fear and pride all packed up into one human body.

"Hey!" The scientist greeted as he stepped out of the safety zone to greet the individual approaching us. "The Tesseract is showing me so much. It's more than just knowledge. It's... truth."

 ‘It’s my freedom!’

My eyes quickly scanned the room. Where was the Tesseract? What was it?

I didn't realize that I had stopped breathing as my eyes scanned the room for the item, that was until a cold voice addressed Agent Barton, A.K.A. me. "I know. What did it show you, Agent Barton?"

I slowly turned to face this man and was surprised when I encountered another perfect being. Very much like Steve, this man had a flawless skin complexion. He was fair, and a pair of piercing gray-green eyes and his dark hair was long, kept, and completely slicked back. He wore peculiar robes that were elegant, yet looked to be from an entirely different time. Nothing I could recognize from any fashion catalog. Not in Vogue at least.

There was something odd about him that just made him memorable. His glare made me shiver. I felt as if he could see right through me.

"My next target," I responded in the most robotic voice that I could.

"Must. Get. The. Iridium." I said in a paced voice in an attempt to hush my hammering heart.

"Tell me what you need," this man said eyeing me cautiously. From where I stood I could see a bow. If Natasha gave me an arrowhead, it was safe to assume the bow was Agent Barton's. I had to stop assuming things and just learn how to do. In order to avoid eye contact, I rushed towards the bow and lifted it. "A distraction," I said.

 It sounded as if I was praying for one instead.  

And with that, I was out.

"How long will she be like this?" It sounded like Nick Fury.

"It hasn't been that long, just a couple of minutes," that was Natasha.

"All of her vital signs indicate she's stable," and Dr. Banner.

"Should we do something?" Of course, the Captain.

As if waking up from a bad dream I groggily opened my eyes, blinking back to reality. I opened my hand and dropped the arrowhead that Natasha had handed me. It made a sound as it hit the metallic floor. I rubbed the back of my head due to the impact of falling.

"St. Paul," Fury acknowledged I had awakened. I instantly felt a pair of hands on my shoulder's holding me steady. I had been moved to the metal table slab.

"He's somewhere in Central Europe." I began. "There were speaking German. I'm assuming Germany or Austria. The accent sounded more German," I reached for my temple in an attempt to soothe my throbbing headache. I attempted to summon every single recollection of everything that I had seen and felt.

 "They are looking for something- Iradiume?"

"Iridium?!" Bruce said a bit louder next to me. I merely nodded my head at his correction.

 "Barton was there. It seems as if everyone is in some kind of trace. There were no emotions in that laboratory... And the Tesserack was there!"

"Tesseract," Everyone in the room including the agents that had followed Nick Fury all corrected unanimously. "Yeah, that."

"Did you see it?" Fury asked. "No, but there was this scientist talking about it. It seemed like he was working with it..."

"How do you know this?" Natasha pressed with mistrusting eyes.

"Because I saw it," I said clumsily standing up on my wobbling knees.

"Did you see anything else?" Steve asked in a more gentle tone.

"Yes." I suddenly remembered the cold eyes of the dark-haired man in the room. "This man, but it was like he wasn't human." I paused for a moment.

"He asked Barton some questions about his mission. Dark hair, green eyes, wore these odd robes. But there was something odd about him..." I felt an uneasy chill run down my spine. It was then that I felt a heavy jacket on my shoulders. I looked at the cheap, brown fabric. It was Banner's; without thanking him, I merely held it tighter to my body.

"Loki," Phil Coulson suddenly breathed.

One of the agents suddenly began to type information into his tablet quickly. His name tag read Jasper Sitwell. Fury turned to look at him curiously.

"I can't believe it. We got a hit!" he exclaimed as he continued typing information.

 "Sixty-seven percent match," he stated. "Seventy-nine percent crossmatch. We got him," he corrected himself.

"Location?" Coulson asked calmly.

Fury simply kept his hands behind his back pleased.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding," he turned the tablet to show us all an image of this man, Loki.

There it was, that piercing glare, pale skin, and dark hair it was him. It appeared as if he was at some gala. I loved what he was wearing. You can never go wrong with Valentino.

"Captain, Agent Romanoff, you're up." Fury said sounding pleased.

 Both nodded and immediately left the room.

 "Banner, you know what to do," he added shortly. With a nod, Bruce retreated to do some research. Fury began walking away. "Oh, St. Paul?" He stopped in his tracks, dramatically turning around.

"Nice job," he said before pressing a button.

There was a hissing sound, and the bomb that had been tied up against my chest beeped as it was being deactivated. It took me a second to snap it off and toss it to the ground. I took in a large breath feeling my chest expand.

Well, one less thing to worry about.

Now to figure out, how to get out of here...

FIRST: Chapter 1 PREV: Chapter 2 NEXT: Chapter 4

[whittlebaggett8]

15 iconic TV characters who were almost played by someone else, Defence Online

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It is challenging to picture a unique Jack Pearson.

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Mike Coppola/Getty Photos/NBC

Some various actors practically played some iconic Television roles.

Alex Borstein initially bought solid as Sookie St. James on “Gilmore Women.”

Katie Holmes was deemed for the job of Piper Chapman on “Orange is the New Black.”

Check out INSIDER’s homepage for a lot more tales.

Can you visualize any individual other than Jason Alexander as George Costanza or Jon Hamm as Don Draper? As hard as it may well be to photo other actors in these roles, it almost took place. Each of all those areas ended up offered to unique stars before ultimately ending up in the hands of the actors who made them legendary.

And that is barely the to start with time a beloved Television character was almost performed by an individual else. You won’t feel how close these actors came to starring in some of your preferred Television set displays.

Katie Holmes was considered for the position of Piper Chapman on “Orange is the New Black.”

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Holmes was far too busy to get the job.

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Jason Merritt/Getty Photographs /Netflix

Before Taylor Schilling donned an orange jumpsuit to play Piper Chapman on the Netflix prison dramedy, Katie Holmes came near to nabbing the section. In 2014, sequence creator Jenji Kohan told E! that she spoke to Holmes about the role, but that the actress was fully commited to other jobs at the time.

The purpose of Phil Dunphy on “Modern Family” just about went to Matt LeBlanc.

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LeBlanc turned it down.

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Visuals/ABC

In 2017, Matt LeBlanc revealed that he was offered the lead job of Phil Dunphy on “Modern Family members,” but turned it down mainly because he felt he was not fairly right for the component. “I bear in mind looking through it wondering, this is a truly very good script, (but) I’m not the person for this,” the actor informed United states of america Right now. “I’d be undertaking the project an injustice to choose this. I know what I can do, I know what I just can’t do.”

Right after he declined, the part went to Ty Burrell, who has since won two Emmys for the position.

“Mad Men” administrators seemingly desired Thomas Jane to engage in Don Draper rather of Jon Hamm.

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Jane handed on the role.

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Robyn Beck/Getty Photos/AMC

“Mad Men” followers may come across it practically unattainable to picture everyone but Jon Hamm taking part in Don Draper, but it turns out he was not even a frontrunner for the role.

“The casting directors did not know who I was. I wasn’t on anybody’s lists,” the actor exposed on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. “The humorous point was, I think they went to Thomas Jane for it, and they were being instructed that Thomas Jane does not do television. “

Hamm racked up 7 consecutive Emmy nominations (such as a single earn) for his functionality on the AMC drama.

Connie Britton was seemingly in thing to consider to be Olivia Pope on “Scandal.”

When Shonda Rhimes was functioning to forged the ABC drama just after it received picked up to pilot, community executives reportedly instructed her it would be “the great display for Connie Britton.”

“I mentioned, ‘It would be, besides Olivia Pope is black,’” Rhimes recalled to The Hollywood Reporter.

Kerry Washington eventually secured the role, producing her the first African-American woman direct in a network drama in just about 40 a long time.

Walter White could have been played by Matthew Broderick rather of Bryan Cranston.

Bryan Cranston received mind-boggling important acclaim – and 4 Emmys – for his masterful portrayal of Walter White in AMC’s “Breaking Lousy,” but believe that it or not, he practically did not get the part.

However sequence creator Vince Gilligan pushed for Cranston from the begin, network executives and producers reportedly had difficulties envisioning the “Malcolm in the Middle” actor in the position and wished large-title motion picture stars, like Matthew Broderick or John Cusack, as an alternative.

In accordance to the Hollywood Reporter, equally of these actors passed, and the community inevitably arrived all-around to the idea of Cranston as the lead. The rest is award-winning Television set heritage.

Courteney Cox just about played Rachel as a substitute of Monica on “Friends.”

The casting of “Friends” was challenging, as the show’s achievements was solely dependent on receiving the appropriate mix of actors to enjoy the 6 core roles. In get to get it right, producers did a good deal of auditioning and even shuffled specific actors among distinct roles, as was the scenario with star Courteney Cox.

“We originally supplied Rachel to Courteney Cox,” co-creator Marta Kauffman told Vanity Honest in 2012. “But she reported she desired to do Monica, not Rachel.” Jennifer Aniston was afterwards solid in her breakout position as Rachel Eco-friendly.

The part of Joey Potter on “Dawson’s Creek” almost went to Selma Blair.

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Selma was at first the first alternative.

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Earl Gibson III/Getty Images and Sony Pictures Television

Selma Blair was creator Kevin Williamson’s initial decision to participate in Joey Potter on “Dawson’s Creek” – until finally Katie Holmes despatched in a previous-moment audition tape.

“I seriously liked Selma right until, of study course, I obtained the notorious videotape from the basement of the Holmes relatives in Toledo, Ohio,” Williamson instructed Leisure Weekly. “And when that online video confirmed up, it improved my complete lifetime.”

Iwan Rheon wanted to enjoy Jon Snow in advance of obtaining forged in a different “Game of Thrones” part.

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Iwan Rheon performs Ramsay Bolton.

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Frederick M. Brown/Getty Photos/HBO

Westeros could have appeared pretty distinct if yet another “Game of Thrones” actor nabbed the position of Jon Snow in excess of Kit Harington – and it just about transpired. Iwan Rheon, who performs the sadistic Ramsay Bolton on the show, at first auditioned to perform the Bastard of Winterfell, as he explained to The New York Situations.

Even though he didn’t get the aspect, his audition made an perception, and producers later identified as the actor to join the show as Ramsay in year three.

The function of Jack Pearson on “This Is Us” could have absent to Oliver Hudson.

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Hudson chose a fishing vacation in excess of the collection.

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Mike Coppola/Getty Photographs/NBC

Oliver Hudson informed the LadyGang podcast that he chose a fishing journey about the probability of actively playing the Pearson relatives patriarch on “This is Us.” Soon after the actor’s examining for the part went “very properly,” Hudson reported he was asked to occur in for a chemistry test with Mandy Moore, but did not want to skip out on his planned vacation to do so.

“This will explain to you how a lot I love to fish. I experienced a 10-working day fishing journey planned … And my agent states, ‘We have to test, and they genuinely like you, and this, this, and that.’ And I claimed, ‘Oh, I’m meant to go on a fishing trip’… And he’s like, ‘OK, yeah, so? I imply, this is a significant point,’” the actor claimed. “And I explained, ‘You know what? I’m likely to do my fishing excursion.’”

Steve Carell’s job as Michael Scott on “The Office” could have been filled by Paul Giamatti.

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Carrell produced the role iconic.

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Jason Merritt/Getty/NBC

NBC’s Emmy-successful collection wouldn’t have been the identical without having Steve Carell, but the community arrived shut to providing the section to somebody else. As Deadline exposed in 2013, then-NBC manager Kevin Reilly’s top preference for the part of Michael Scott was reportedly Paul Giamatti, but the actor passed on the provide to be part of the present.

Dr. Derek Shepherd was just about performed by Rob Lowe on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

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It is difficult to envision a new McDreamy.

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JB Lacroix/ Getty Illustrations or photos/ABC

Can you think about anybody other than Patrick Dempsey as McDreamy? Casting directors apparently did, as they originally provided the purpose to Rob Lowe. However the actor liked the script, he ultimately turned down the function in get to star on the CBS series, “Dr. Vegas.”

“Year just after year after year, all of ABC’s new dramas flopped. CBS was on a scorching streak that proceeds to this working day,” he wrote in his reserve, “Love Everyday living,” of the decision. “Although ‘Grey’s’ was a substantially much better script, I chose ‘Dr. Vegas.’ The odds were just way too stacked.”

The section of George Costanza on “Seinfeld” was provided to Chris Rock and Danny DeVito.

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Other actors turned it down.

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Jason Merrit/Roberto Rodriguez/GettyImages/HBO

During a 2015 interview with Howard Stern, Jason Alexander unveiled his legendary purpose on “Seinfeld” pretty much went to a number of other high-profile actors, together with Chris Rock. Evidently, Rock, Paul Shaffer, and Danny DeVito ended up every supplied the component at some position in the casting method, but all turned it down.

Gillian Anderson claimed she just about filled the position of Cora Crawley on “Downton Abbey.”

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Elizabeth McGovern acquired an Emmy and Golden World nomination.

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Angela Weiss/Getty Images/BBC

Prior to Elizabeth McGovern earned an Emmy and Golden World nomination for her portrayal of Cora on “Downton Abbey,” Gillian Anderson arrived shut to playing the component. The “X-Files” star claimed she was supplied the position of the Countess of Grantham but finally turned it down.

Jennifer Like Hewitt evidently turned down the purpose of Robin on “How I Achieved Your Mom.”

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Hewitt did “The Ghost Whisperer” alternatively.

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Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Illustrations or photos/CBS

Cobie Smulders arrived very near to lacking out on taking part in previous Canadian teen pop star-turned-New York journalist, Robin Scherbatsky. In a Reddit Talk to Me Nearly anything in 2014, collection creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays uncovered that Jennifer Adore Hewitt acquired an offer to perform the character, but turned it down for another venture.

“Jennifer Adore Hewitt did ‘The Ghost Whisperer’ instead of ‘HIMYM!’” they wrote on line.

Alex Borstein initially bought cast as Sookie St. James on “Gilmore Women.”

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Alex Borstein remaining the function.

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Lucy Nicholson/Getty Photographs/WB

Actress Alex Borstein played the character of Lorelai Gilmore’s finest friend and chef extraordinaire, Sookie St. James, in the unique unaired pilot of “Gilmore Women.” She later on still left the role thanks to contractual obligations with “MadTV,” and Melissa McCarthy replaced her as Sookie in the revised pilot, noted Vanity Truthful.

Borstein did finally show up on the exhibit as Drella the impolite harp participate in in seasons a single and eight and Emily Gilmore’s eccentric stylist, Miss out on Celine, in seasons a few and 5.

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[spacefoxy-irl]

The Tod Howarth mini interview

Back in... uuh 2004? I got the chance to do a mini interview bit for mine and friend’s website with Tod Howarth from Ace Frehley’s solo band. We had people submit questions they wanted to ask him too.

I recently found the interview and incase ya wanna read what he had to say here it is:

Hey Tod! First of all, how are you doing?

Tod: Well not too bad really, busy (as anybody might be) I'm enjoying the early summer here in San Diego. I'm writing and recording albeit very slowly at the moment because I've got a few things on my plate here that are taking up most of my time - some musical some not. However the wife and I are enjoying some time together with the ski boat and motorhome - even here locally in the wonderful bay areas of San Diego.

How did you become a musician? Tell us what got you started?

Tod: It was the Beatles that got me going. I saw them on TV in 1964 and I was transfixed. My ability really didn't come out until a few years later but I started to sing and hear all the harmonies and lead vocals from this (then) new mop-top band - and because the way that the girls reacted to them I thought 'Well now, this must have something to it, hmmmm'.

Who are your idols?

Tod: I have many really, From early on Guitar, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, Vocals, Steve Marriott, Steve Walsh (of Kansas) I told him that once and he didn't quite know how to react. I loved the Babys, a great band back in the '70's. Today I really like a lot of fresh HEAVY stuff as well as the likes of Sting, Seal, early Phil Collins. Maybe these are more influences that they are idols. Paul McCartney is probably my biggest idol.

What instruments do you play? Cause I have seen pictures of you playing several.

Tod: I am a singer first really, then I learned keyboards, drums, guitar, bass. I play mostly guitar now but for many years I was known primarily as a keyboardist. I'm best at keys and guitar - I have to really learn the parts (of my songs) on the drums because it's a refresher course every time because I don't play everyday (or week, month etc for that matter) When I was about 15 I played drums a lot but succumbed to the lure of the all mighty guitar!

Tell something about your early career. What was the first band you played with etc.?

Tod: Well, professionally that would be 707, my first real garage band was a three piece with no bass player - I was on guitar. Then a band called 'Cocoa Blue' That was a great band - my cousin by marriage, Jason Scheff, played bass - he's now and has been with the band 'Chicago' Then 'Dartanyan'..and then I moved to Los Angeles and played with many variations of bands until I landed the gig with 707.

Since you are mostly known from Frehley's Comet, how did you get together with Ace?

Tod: I met Ace through John Regan when I was on tour with Cheap Trick and John was playing with John Wait back in 1985/86. Regan was doing some side stuff with Ace at the time and thought that I might be a benefit to the up and coming Comet plan.

* Here’s some random questions from our website members. *

What's your favorite Song and Video of Frehley's Comet?

Tod: "Something Moved" was my fave - I guess because it's my tune and it was so fun to sing and play live. "Insane" was the fave video because of well, have you seen it? Women, women, women!

Who's the redhead on Ace's lap in the video for 'Insane'? It's not Jeanette is it?

Tod: That was Kim, Ace's girlfriend at the time. I have heard that she had a hard time after they broke up and he had rejoined KISS. She took her own life. This I have not confirmed but it was well circulated.     (yikes)

Do you still keep in touch with Ace?

Tod: I have not talked to Ace in years - he's been very busy of course and was not interested in the Comet reunion or so I had heard. I do miss the guy.

I'd like to know if you always knew that Ace was as sober as he pretended to be or if he acknowledged any difference on stage, if he (Ace) was performing after "substance abuse"?

Tod: When I first started playing with the Comet he was sober, straight headed, and driven to succeed again. I really don't know if he ever played 'hammered' when I was with the band because he kind of had that 'hammered' movement thing going for him in that all so 'Ace' manner!

Have you had any contact with John Regan again?

Tod: Each and most every time that he comes through with Peter Frampton we see each other and or talk.

Are you coming to Europe again at any point?

Tod: A pending opportunity that just came up may in fact bring me back over there - if and when this happens it'll be up and on my (much needed updating) website. http://www.todhowarth.com/

Do you really prefer brunettes (like I have heard)?

Tod: Yes, weird huh, that I'm married to a blonde!   (lol)

Have you read the KISS & Tell book about Ace and if you have is it all true?

Tod: No, I have not read it all the way through - that would be so hard for me to do because it seems to be 'tit for tat' crap. Some of it may ring true and some may be embellished but I wouldn't know about a lot of that - just my involvement - of which I did read and it's not all that accurate.

Thank you Tod!

Tod: Thank you!! Talk soon.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND March 22, 2019  - US

Of course, the big movie of the weekend is Jordan Peele’s US (Universal), his follow-up to his Oscar-winning mega-hit Get Out, this one starring Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke from Black Panther. Right now, from the reactions and rave reviews out of its SXSW premiere, Peele is not going to experience a sophomore slump and the world will continue to be his oyster. (As of this writing, I personally haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ll be attending the New York premiere on Tuesday night and hope to have a review done and posted some time Wednesday.)

You can read what I think of the box office prospects for Jordan Peele’s Us over at The Beat, and here’s MY REVIEW OF US.

A24 is also expanding Sebastian Lelio’s GLORIA BELL, a drama starring Julianne Moore which I loved, into more theaters on Friday, and that could also make an entry into the top 10 as solid counter-programming to Peele’s movie.

But let’s get to what hopefully you’re reading this for… and that’s the other stuff in theaters this weekend.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

I’m gonna start with this section this week, because I’m so excited about something going on at the IFC Center -- not the first time and definitely won’t be the last --  as it’s the 2nd annual WHAT THE FEST?!, which I sadly missed last year. This year’s line-up is slammin’, opening on Wednesday night with the World Premiere of Larry (Habit) Fessendern’s new movie Depraved, his take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Later on Wednesday is the NYC Premiere of the Swedish film The Unthinkable and then on Thursday is the NYC Premiere of Pollyanna McIntosh’s Darlin’, a sequel to Jack Ketchum’s 2009 movie The Woman, which was in turn a sequel to Offspring.

I have seen a couple of the movies including Penny Lane’s doc Hail Satan?about the Satanic Temple’s fight against theocracies in the form of states trying to put statues of the Ten Commandments on government sites. It’s a movie that has humor as well as politics, and it’s part of the all-day Satan-themed Sunday that will include my buddy Grady Hendrix doing a presentation in conjunction with his novel We Sold Our Souls. Friday night is the New York premiere of Emma Tammi’s The Wind, an amazing Western horror film set in the desolate wasteland, starring Caitlin Gerrard (Insidious: The Last Key) and Julia Goldani Telles (Slenderman).

If there’s one movie you ABSOLUTELY MUST SEE, it’s Shinichiro Ueda’s horror-comedy One Cut of the Dead, which is very hard to describe without spoiling but imagine if a film crew making a zombie movie is attacked by real zombies… and then throw any conceptions you might have about the movie out the window. I have to thank my pal David Jaffee for recommending the movie so highly, as it’s a very clever take on zombies. (And honestly, at this point, I have no idea if and when it will get U.S. distribution.) I probably won’t have a chance to see Roxanne Benjamin’s Body at Brighton Rock but Magnolia is opening it in April so hopefully I’ll see it before then.

LIMITED RELEASES

Opening in New York and L.A. on Friday before a wide release on March 29 is HOTEL MUMBAI (Bleecker Street), the directorial debut by Anthony Maras, which looks at the 2008 terrorist attacks on the Taj Hotel. It stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer and Jason Isaacs as part of the ensemble cast dealing with Muslim terrorists who attacked the hotel in order to take Western hostages for ransom. It’s a solid debut by Maras, one with a lot of moving parts but handled sensitively and tactfully due to the nature of the events. I definitely recommend the movie if you have a chance to see it. It’s not quite United 93 but still very good.

Oscar-winning Hungarian filmmaker Laszlo Nemes (Son of Saul) returns with his new movie SUNSET (Sony Pictures Classics), set in Budapest 1913, as it follows Irisz Leiter as she arrives there to work as a milliner (hat salesperson) at the popular hat store that belonged to her parents, though she’s sent away by the owner Oszkar Brill. When a man shows up looking for Irisz’s brother Kalman, she begins to look into her lost past. I have to be honest that I wasn’t much of a fan of the movie, maybe because it was very long, slow and confusing to the point where I really didn’t understand much of what was happening. Clearly, it’s not a film on par with Son of Saul, although I guess some people might like it more than I did. It probably will open in New York and L.A., as that’s the way Sony Classics usually does things.

Filmmaker S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk) returns with his latest genre film DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE (Summit/Lionsgate), a police thriller starring Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn as disgraced police officers who decide to hijack an ambitious heist, stealing the bars of gold that were stolen by a group of robbers. It’s a decent movie if you’re into this sort of thing. Zahler keeps improving as a filmmaker and here, he makes a movie with the weight of Steve McQueen’s Widows, although I thought Tory Kittles was far more interesting than the two leads, even though they do have good chemistry together. This will open in select cities Friday.

Opening at the Film Forum on Wednesday is a wonderful doc by Dutch filmmaker Heddy Honnigmann called BUDDY, which looks at a number of people and their relationships with incredible service dogs who help them get through everything from blindness to PTSD. This really is a wonderful movie, especially if you’re a dog-lover because all of the dogs have personalities as interesting as their masters.

Also opening at Film Forum Friday and at the Lammle Monica Film Center  is Nancy Schwartzman’s new documentary Roll Red Roll (Together Films) looks at a 2012 incident of high school sexual assault in Steubenville, Ohio where a young woman was raped by the football team. It’s a harrowing story but if you’re interested in the type of true crime docs that are all over Netflix, this one should interest you as well. (It’s particularly struggling for me to watch it, having one nephew in high school not too far away from where this happened.)

A movie that I saw and reviewed out of the Tribeca Film Festival last year was Robert Budreau’s STOCKHOLM, which reunites him with Ethan Hawke from Born to Blue, this time playing a bank robber who robs a bank in Sweden with his partner (Mark Strong) and takes a bank manager (Noomi Rapace) hostage before she falls for him … leading to the term “Stockholm Syndrome.” No, I’m not making that up. I don’t remember hating or loving this but just thought it was okay, probably elevated by the presence of the cast.

Patricia Clarkson, Jacki Weaver, James Caan and Toby Jones star in Carol Morley’s thriller OUT OF BLUE (IFC Films) about a New Orleans detective (Clarkson) searching for the killer of a renowned astrophysicist (played by Mamie Gummer), who was shot to death in her observatory. I’ll try to watch this and write more about it soon.

John Travolta and Toby Sebastian star in Karzan Kader’s Trading Paint (Saban Films/Lionsgate), playing a fat her and son racing duo who have a falling out, something that a rival racing company uses to drive a wedge further into the relationship. The movie has been on Ultra VOD for the last month but it will open in select theaters and regular VOD Friday.

Following a one-night theatrical release in 150 theaters on Tuesday, Jesse V. Johnson’s action-thriller Triple Threat (Well GO USA), starring Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak) and Iko Uwais (The Raid) will be available in select theaters and VOD. They are part of a team of mercenaries sent to stop a group of assassins from killing a billionaire’s daughter. It also stars Scott Adkins, Tiger Chen, Michael Jai White and more.

Joel Proykus’ video game comedy Relaxer (Oscilloscope) stars Josh Burge (who previously starred in Proykus’ Ape) as Abbie who is trying to beat the impossible 256thlevel of Pac-Man with no food or water and a bunch of friends and acquaintances showing up. The comedy also stars David Dastmalchian (Ant-Man) and it opens in select cities.

Eric Khoo’s Ramen Shop (Strand Releasing) also opens in New York at the IFC Center and Landmark at 57 West. It follows a young Ramen chef named Masato who leaves Japan to go on a culinary journey through Singapore where he discovers family secrets and new recipes. It will expand to L.A. and other cities on April 5.

As far as streaming, we get our third Western in three weeks with Scott Martin’s Big Kill (Cinedigm), starring Christoph Sander, Jason Patric and more. It involves a Philadelphia accountant who travels West to join the family business who meets up with two rogues who have been run out of Mexico.  It’s on VOD now.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Harmony Korine will be on-hand Friday for the start of a special seriesshowing his films, including 2012’s Spring Breakers, as well as showing 1995’s Kids, which he wrote. (It’s all to prepare for the release of Korine’s latest film The Beach Bum, starring Matthew McConaughey, which will screen for members only.) Film Society of Lincoln Center director Kent Jones ventures downtown to promote his new movie Diane with a “Dream Double Feature” of Westerns The Shooting (1966) and Rio Bravo (1959) on Saturday afternoon. Late Nites at Metrograph will show Catherine Reillat’s Fat Girlon Wednesday night and then Masahiro Shinoda’s 1969 film Double Suicide on Friday and Saturday nights. This week’s Playtime: Family Matinees is Ken Kwapis’ 1996 monkey comedy Dunston Checks In, starring Jason Alexander from Seinfeld.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds. afternoon shows a singular screening of The Three Faces of Eve  (1957) starring Joanne Woodward. This week’s double features are John Ford’s Fort Apache  (1948), starring John Wayne, with Robert Aldrich’s Ulzana’s Raid (1972) on Weds. and Thurs, the comedy double feature of Monty Python and the Holy Grail  (1975)and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983) on Friday and Saturday, and then the Paul Wendkos double feature of The Mephisto Waltz (1971) and Special Delivery (1976) on Sunday and Monday. This weekend’s midnight movies are Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 2 on Friday night and Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex But Were Afraid to Ask on Saturday. The weekend’s KIDDEE MATINE is Clarence Brown’s 1944 National Velvet, starring Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor. On Monday, the Bev shows the amazing Parker Posey breakthrough film Party Girl  (1995) with director Daisy von Scherler Mayer in person, then Tuesday’s GRINDHOUSE double feature is two from Hong Kong, The Tattoo Connection (1978) and another “Bruce Li” movie Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger, also from 1978.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

The ongoing Bob & Wray: A Hollywood Love Story series continues this week with the Fay Wray double feature of The Clairvoyant (1935) and Black Moon  (1934) on Weds, the Bill Riskin-penned Mister 880  (1950) and Broadway Will (1934) Thursday, then even more Frank Capra with American Madness (1932) and The Miracle Woman (1931)on Friday (and again, next Tuesday). The weekend sees a 35mm print of King Kongshown as part of Film Forum Jr., as well as in a double feature with The Most Dangerous Game (1932) on Saturday and again on Monday. Also showing this weekend is The Four Feathers ( 1929) – with live piano accompaniment--on Saturday and Magic Town (1947) and Capra’s Meet John Doe  (1941) on Sunday. Also Sunday is a single-showing horror double feature of The Mystery of the Wax Museum and The Vampire Bat, both from 1933 and both starring Wray.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Before coming to New York’s Metrograph, Harmony Korine will be here in person for a Thursday screening of Trash Humpers and Spring Breakers, plus “Bruno Ganz Remembered” continues as the Egyptian also shows Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire on Sunday. (At one point, the theater was also showing a double feature of Nosferatu, The Vampire and The American Friend, too.) Old movie fans might also be interested in “The Musketeers of Pig Alley” and More Films of 1912, which a series of shorts by D.W. Griffith that run on Saturday and Sunday.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: The Feds  wraps up with Steven Spielberg’s 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can, starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio. Weekend Classics: Early Godard also concludes this weekend with Pierrot Le Fou (1965) while this weekend’s Late Night Favorites is David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.

MOMA (NYC):

MOMA continues the series Modern Matinees: B is for Bacall with the 1953 filmHow to Marry a Millionaireon Wednesday, Vincente Minelli’s 1955 film The CobwebThursday and Jonathan Glazer’s more recentBirth (2004) on Friday.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

For whatever reason, BAM is screening Michaelangelo Antonioni’s 1970 “classic” Zabriskie Point on Friday night – I’m not really a fan -- as part of BAM and Triple Canopy: On Resentment, but already sold out is Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 film La Haine, starring Vincent Cassel, and other interesting films in the series, like Steve McQueen’s Hunger, starring Michael Fassbender.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The museum’s Tribute to Bruno Ganz will screen Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire on Sunday, and it’s showing this year’s Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts as part of its ongoing family program.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

The Nuart’s Friday midnight offering isJohn Waters’ Polyester (1981)starring the late Divine.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The quad continues its Bertrand Blier series with the 40thanniversary restoration of his 1978 film Get Out Your Handkerchiefs.

AERO  (LA):

The AERO is booked up this week with the West Coast version of the Canada Now!Series.

STREAMING AND CABLE

This Friday’s big Netflix streaming debut is Jeff (Bad Grandpa)Tremaine’s Motley Crue biopic THE DIRT, starring Douglas Booth, Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton from Game of Thrones) and more. I haven’t seen it yet but I’ll probably watch it sometime this weekend.

That’s it for this week, but next week, we’ll get Tim Burton’s Dumboand more.